Without Words
by Chakat StarDust
Summary: Loki's punishment is to be banished to earth with his powers stripped from him and his mouth sewn shut. The Avengers new archivist, Bruce's mute young cousin, is faced with the daunting task of teaching the angry God how to communicate with sign language.
1. Chapter 1

Star: New story, with a new OC, I hope you enjoy her. Marvel owns the Avengers, I own everything else.

It wasn't enough, was it? They were taking his powers, banishing him to Midgard, and still the wolves bayed for more blood. Thor had never been so ashamed to call himself an Aesir, while the council shouted and argued about his brother, Loki, and how he should be further humiliated.

Thor stared at his brother, being held by two guards, shackles binding his wrists behind his back. He was dressed simply in a green tunic and a pair of soft trousers, and he looked tiny and fragile being held there. Poison green eyes met his and the idea that his brother was fragile melted in the ferocity of that glare.

'It's not my fault.' He mouthed at Loki. Loki's only indication that he understood was a scornful sneer flashing briefly across his face. Loki blamed him for his current predicament, he knew, but what else was he supposed to do? He'd thought that because Odin had raised Loki, raised him as a son, that his punishment would not be so harsh, but he was beginning to suspect he was wrong.

"Enough, I have made my decision." Odin's voice silenced the bickering and Thor gritted his teeth, waiting for his father's proclamation. "Loki Laufeyson…" Thor closed his eyes briefly, his father had disowned Loki after all. "Your crimes are severe, and so your punishment is severe as well. Since your lies are your greatest weapon, you will be silenced. I decree that your lips be sewn shut by twine that cannot be broken. This task will be carried out by the one you have wronged the most. Thor."

It didn't register for a moment what Odin had said. When it did, Thor turned and stared at his father in disbelief and horror. "I cannot." He said quietly. "I will not."

"You will, or someone else will." Odin said quietly, but firmly. Though the thought of causing his brother that sort of pain made Thor's insides twist, the thought of someone else, someone who wanted to cause Loki pain, doing so made him feel physically ill. He slowly accepted the thread and needle from his father and stepped down to where his brother stood, pinned, unable to escape his fate.

Loki's eyes slid up to meet his and then to look at the thread in Thor's hand. For once the mask was gone, and naked terror shone in Loki's green eyes. Thor caught Loki's chin in one hand, holding his face still. His brother stared up at him, a desperate plea in his eyes and in the trembling of his lips.

"I am the only one here that does not wish you to suffer." Thor whispered, his throat tight with anguish. "I will make this as painless as I can, try not to move, please." Loki jerked slightly at the touch of the needle against his flesh, but he couldn't move much and he didn't try.

Thor pushed the tip of the needle through Loki's skin, piercing it. Loki flinched, a soft whimper escaping him before he stilled again, trembling slightly. Thor pulled the thread through Loki's lip, pulling it taut, and then pushed the needle through the skin again, bile rising in his throat at every little jerk and whimper Loki let out.

By the time he was nearly done his fingers were soaked with Loki's blood and Loki was silently crying in pain. Thor refused to let his own tears fall, fearful that such sympathy would spur Odin to taking him away from his task and making another, more cruel than Thor finish it. He pulled the last of the thread tight and then knotted it, sealing Loki's lips shut completely.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He whispered, trying to wipe some of the tears off Loki's face. Loki turned his face away, refusing to look at Thor. Thor sucked in a shuddering breath, composing himself, and turned to face his father. "It is done." He stated, moving to show the now silenced Trickster.

"Good, now get him out of my sight." That was it, Odin's final dismissal of Loki. No indication that the king of the gods had ever even cared about his adopted son. Thor took Loki by the arm and led him from the room. Loki kept his head lowered, probably to try and hide his tear-streaked face. Once outside the room Thor removed the shackles on Loki's wrists and placed an arm around his shoulders, leading him to the Bifrost, which had finally been repaired.

%&%&%&%

"Director Fury, I need to talk to you." Bruce stepped into what was now the Avengers' living room in the tower's several floors of living, working and working out space. Nick Fury was waiting by the wall that was all windows, looking out onto the city, waiting.

"Now is not exactly a good time, doctor. Thor and Loki should be showing up soon." Director Fury explained tersely.

"I know, but you're not an easy man to pin down, and this is kind of important." Bruce replied, adjusting his glasses. Fury stared at him a moment and then nodded his head. "How much do you know about my family?"

"Enough." Fury replied blandly. Bruce resisted the urge to roll his eyes; it was such a typical Fury answer.

"Do you know about my cousin? About what happened to her soon after my… accident?" Fury considered him for a moment and then nodded. "Of course you do." Bruce sighed, rubbing at his temples. "She's having a rough time, she's had pretty bad social anxiety since it happened and its affecting her ability to get a job."

"You want SHIELD to take her on." Fury guessed.

"I know you've been stockpiling all the SHIELD files on the lower levels of this tower. I also know that you need someone to organize and look after them. Mikey's been trained in library science, she knows how to be an archivist. You have her records, you know she's not a threat, so don't pull up that kind of bull."

"It's not that simple." Fury stated.

"She might be able to help keep the Other Guy calm too." Bruce said quietly. "I know that's a big thing. I just want to help her out, maybe Tasha could teach her some self defense and then she wouldn't be so scared of everything."

Fury sighed deeply. "I had considered bringing her in, to give you someone you could relate to. Do you even think that she'd be able to handle the Hulk?"

"Yes, she knows about the Other Guy and she doesn't seem very fazed. I've been talking to her again." Bruce confessed.

"I know." Fury smiled slightly. "I'll send out a message to her, make sure you talk to her before she comes as well."

"Yeah, yeah, of course." Bruce breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that Fury had said yes. It had probably been his intent all along, but it was still a relief.

"Incoming." Fury warned, a second before the sky above turned strange colours and a surge of light shone down from the clouds. Bruce looked away and when he looked back he saw that Thor was standing on the overly huge balcony outside and leading Loki towards the building. There seemed to be something on Loki's face…

"Oh my god." Bruce stared, closed his eyes and then opened them again, trying to deny the horror of what he was seeing, but it was still there. Loki's mouth had been sewn shut, very recently, judging by the still oozing blood and the expression of pain on the God of Mischief's face. He didn't like Loki, none of the Avengers did, but this was just inhumane.

"Bruce, just the man I wanted to see." Thor said with a strained smile. "You are a doctor, correct?"

"Yes, but I… I'm not… you should really take him down to medical, they're better equipped, especially to remove those stitches." Bruce stuttered out.

"They cannot be removed." Thor's voice was almost too low for Bruce to hear.

"Fucker say what?" Fury growled.

"The stitches are made with unbreakable twine, they cannot be removed, unless Odin himself does so." Thor ground out.

"But that… this… how in the hell is he supposed to eat, goddamn it?!" Loki flinched at his loud, angry tone and Bruce gritted his teeth, working to bring his temper down. He didn't need to go Hulk, not right now.

"Got it, doctor?" Fury asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it, I'm okay." Bruce rubbed at his temples and sighed. "You're going to have to take him to medical, big guy, I haven't got the experience to know how to deal with this." Thor nodded his head in understanding and pulled Loki towards the elevator.

"Did you know about this, Fury?" Bruce asked.

"No." Fury answered. "As ambiguous as you might think my code of ethics is, I do not, and have never condoned torture." He held up a hand to forestall any objections. "I know you've heard the rumours, but we created the rumours to scare people, and it works. I don't need to torture people, Natasha goes in, talks all sweet for a couple minutes while cleaning her knives and then the fuckers just sing."

"So, this…"

"That, that was just wrong. If they are trying to prevent Loki from being destructive…" Fury shook his head. "Those muthafuckers got their attitude way wrong."

Bruce nodded. "Well, I'm going to call my cousin now." He said awkwardly. Fury nodded distractedly. Bruce walked away, shaking his head at everything.

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Star: What do you think?


	2. Chapter 2

Star: I own nothing!

Loki hated being prodded at, especially when he knew there was nothing that could be done. He glared balefully at the mortal doctors standing around discussing him, unable to snap at them like he normally would. He'd been given painkillers so far, and now his not-brother was hovering annoyingly while the doctors discussed his 'dietary needs'.

"He can open his mouth a touch, enough for a straw to pass through in any case. All that needs to be done is to puree his food." The doctor shrugged. "The only other options are intravenous or a feeding tube, both of which are far more invasive."

"Thank you doctor." Thor rumbled, placing a hand on Loki's shoulder. "Come, brother."

Loki impatiently swatted Thor's hand away, ignoring the upset and guilty look the Thunder god gave him. The oaf should feel guilty after all, it was his fault he was in this situation at all. Loki wasn't about to comfort the blithering idiot, he wanted Thor to feel awful. He touched the stitches silencing him, feeling a faint sting of pain and cursed all of Asgard for this humiliation.

"It will be alright, brother, you'll see." He hated the forced optimism of Thor's voice. He just desperately wanted Thor to stop talking, to stop reminding him about his predicament, but he couldn't, and so he merely ground his teeth in frustration, the action still making the stitches in his lips flex slightly.

When they stepped out of the elevator into the Avengers', and now, unwillingly, his, living area, all the Avengers, Director Nick Fury, and Coulson were sitting around the island in the middle of the kitchen. Loki stopped dead and his eyes bulged out at the sight of Coulson; hadn't he killed the man?! Coulson just gave him a polite smile and a little wink. Loki burned with curiosity, but without a voice, he couldn't ask the question, and it didn't seem like Coulson was willing to speak about it.

"What in god's name?" Barton was the first of the Avengers to notice his punishment. Of course this prompted the rest of them to take notice. Captain Rogers dropped the pen he was doodling with, Stark spat out his drink and Agent Romanoff's eyebrow twitched, the only indication that she felt anything.

"I told you it was bad." Dr. Banner said quietly. Barton was the first to recover from his shock and horror.

"I still don't want him living here. He should be locked up." He growled, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at Loki. His anger didn't surprise Loki.

"I don't give a damn how you feel about it, Barton." Fury said. "He's as trapped here as he is in a cell. Fucker's not going anywhere without his mystical magic shit or his mouth all sewn up."

"The stitches cannot be removed?" Agent Romanoff asked quietly.

"If they could, I would have removed them as soon as I was out of sight of my father." Thor softly sighed, voice heavy with sorrow. 'Stupid sentimental fool.' Loki thought. Agent Romanoff nodded her head just slightly at Thor, expression unchanged.

"Alright, fuckers, ground rules time." Fury interjected, forestalling anymore questions. "You," He pointed at Loki. "Are not allowed to leave the Tower without an escort. If a door is locked to you, don't try to force it and if you attack anyone, your ass is in a cell faster than you can blink. Comprende?" Loki tried to sneer, the action pulling at the stitches, but nodded all the same. Fury was not one to make idle threats. "The rest of you jackasses, don't provoke him. I'm looking at you Stark, and you as well, Barton!"

"Spoil my fun, why not?" Stark muttered, giving Fury a thumbs-up and a shit-eating grin when Fury gave him a look.

"He leaves us alone, we'll leave him alone." Steve said decisively.

"Well, the Captain has spoken." Stark deadpanned. Steve looked at him, frowning. "Alright, I give, enough with the disappointed-parent face, please, Steve."

"We done here?" Barton growled.

"For the moment." Fury agreed.

"I'm going down to the gym then, if anyone needs me." Barton stood up. "You coming, Tasha?" Agent Romanoff nodded and slid out of her seat, following Barton out of the room.

"They have the weirdest relationship." Stark commented to no one in particular.

"Come on brother, I shall show you your room." Loki shook off his not-brother's hand again. 'Don't touch me!' he wanted to scream. Frustration stuck in his throat, he needed to scream, yell, curse, something, and he could do nothing. He glared at Stark, who was smirking at him, and followed Thor up the staircase to the next level, which appeared to be all bedrooms. Thor ushered him into a large room sparsely furnished with a bed, a night table, a bookshelf and a desk. The back wall was just one large window and the walls were a uniform, boring cream colour.

"It is not so bad." Thor was talking again, of course. Loki closed his eyes and tried to block it out, but Thor's voice was persistent, grating on his nerves. Thor kept talking and Loki's rage finally boiled over. He seized the lamp on the night table and hurled it, narrowly missing Thor's head. Thor stopped speaking and stared at him, looking tired and a little lost.

"Alright brother, I'll leave you be." Thor backed out of the room, finally leaving Loki in peace.

%&%&%&%

"This cannot go on." Bruce looked up from his microscope, in his very own lab that Tony had paid for, and blinked at Fury, who had somehow wandered in without him realizing it.

"I'm sorry?"

"The fucker's destroyed more furniture in two fucking weeks than the Hulk has." Fury growled. Bruce didn't have to ask who he was talking about. "He barely comes out of his room and is completely antagonistic to anyone who comes even close to him."

"I know, I live there." Bruce replied mildly. "I'm not sure what this has to do with me, unless you want the Other Guy to toss him around a little."

"As entertaining as that might be, no, I have something else in mind." Fury stated, sitting down on one of the stools. "Agent Romanoff firmly believes most of Loki's frustration comes from his inability to communicate. I'm sure you've noticed he's more pissed off when he's been trying to get someone's attention, or Thor is trying to talk at him." Fury explained. "If someone could teach him…your cousin, for instance."

Bruce stared at Fury like he'd lost his mind. "You want to put a severely traumatized girl in the same room as a pissed off god? Why her? Why not someone else?"

"You think he'd be willing to learn from you?" Bruce shook his head; Loki avoided contact with him more than anyone else in the Tower. "The only other one who would want to teach Loki is Thor, and he's still learning himself, and Loki avoids him almost as much as he avoids you."

"Fury, I wanted Mikey to learn to not be so afraid of people, but this is like trial by fire!"

"Can't always let them ease into it slow, doctor. Sometimes the best way is to chuck them right back in."

Bruce sighed heavily. "I'll talk to her, but if she says no, and you try to force her, I will get angry." It was as close to a threat that Bruce would ever make.

"Of course." Fury smiled slightly and sauntered out of the room. Bruce rubbed at his temples and shook his head; Fury was as manipulative as always.

%&%&%&%

Loki tore apart another pillow, scattering little white feathers through the air. He'd already pulled apart the bed and was just venting the last of his fury on the sheets and pillows. The wanton destruction was his only outlet and he took great pleasure in it, especially because it inconvenienced his jailers so much.

"You know, eventually they're just going to let you sleep on the floor instead of replacing the bed." A mild voice commented behind him. He whirled and stared at the vessel of the green monster, Dr. Banner, and the wide-eyed young woman beside him who stared at the destruction of the room with horrified awe. 'Come to gawk at the caged monster?' Loki thought bitterly to himself.

The young woman's eyes found him finally and widened even further. She pushed the round-rimmed glasses she wore further up her nose and then touched her lips lightly, in an unconscious gesture. Loki turned away, pressing his forehead against the window and trying to calm down. It wouldn't do to provoke the Hulk into appearing. A few moments later he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned with a muffled growl of annoyance and stared down.

Anxious green-hazel eyes stared back at him, she was scared, but he could also see a spark of gentle compassion in the depths of her eyes. Her hair was short, dirty blonde and curly. She wore a slightly oversized navy blue turtleneck and loose blue jeans. She had the distinctive look of someone who would much rather just disappear. She held out a tissue to him and Loki realized he was bleeding again.

He took the tissue delicately and pressed it to his lips. She licked her own lips and turned to Dr. Banner, making a series of strange gestures with her hands. Banner nodded his head, looking mildly surprised. "This is my cousin, Michaela, but we mostly call her Mikey. Um, a few years back Mikey was attacked… mugged, stabbed in the throat and left to die. She didn't, obviously, but the knife had caused irreversible damage to her vocal cords, and she's now mute." Dr. Banner paused. "What you saw her doing with her hands is called sign language. It's how people who can't talk normally communicate." Dr. Banner looked at the girl again; she nodded her head. "She's willing to teach you, if you're sick of using charades to communicate."

Loki looked at Mikey, who chewed her lip, still looking nervous. He dreaded another day of Thor trying to decipher what he wanted, which most of the time was just some peace and quiet, but Thor didn't know this 'sign language' any more than he did, so that was no help to him.

"In case you're wondering, me, Fury, Coulson, Natasha and Clint know sign language already. The rest of the team is learning it now, because of Mikey being here. So everyone will be able to understand you eventually."

That changed things. He had little faith in Thor's ability to learn a new language; he barely understood one. But, he supposed there could be advantages. He looked at Dr. Banner and nodded his head in agreement. Of course that was the moment the alarm chose to go off, visibly startling Mikey.

"Oh, duty calls." Banner sighed. "I've got to go, hero work." Mikey nodded and gave him a quick hug, making another gesture at him. "I love you too." Banner said with a smile and then hurried out of the room.

Mikey turned back to Loki, considering him for a moment. Slowly she extended a hand that shook just a little bit. Loki looked at it for a moment and then took it, realizing how tiny her hand seemed in comparison to hers. She gave his hand one firm shake and then let go. She smiled shyly at him and then backed out of the room, allowing him to be alone again.

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Star: Review plz!


	3. Chapter 3

Star: I own nothing!

Pepper Potts was a woman who, thanks to Tony, considered herself to be unable to be surprised by much. Tony made an armoured suit, okay. Tony joined a team of superheroes and saved New York, no problem. Tony's living with a couple of gods, possible ego reducer for Tony. She pretty much could take anything that was sent her way.

So she was a little surprised to find she was surprised by the sight of a small brown haired young woman sitting in the Avengers' living room, watching TV. "Hello there." She said cheerfully, searching her memory for this girl. Nothing was coming up. The girl looked up at her, blinking slightly. She moved her hands and Pepper realized she was using sign language. "Oh, sorry, are you deaf?" She asked, signing her question at the same time. Thank goodness for boredom and supplementary college classes. The girl shook her head.

_I am mute, my name is Mikey, I'm Bruce's cousin._ Mikey signed.

"Ugh, why does no one ever think to tell me these things?" Pepper sighed, rolling her eyes. "It's not your fault, it's just it would be nice to know that you were coming so I wouldn't just walk in and have no idea who you are, but that's Tony for you."

_He sounds like a handful._ Mikey commented. Pepper sat down and Mikey moved away a little bit, exuding an air of nervousness.

"You have no idea." Pepper sighed again, purposely not mentioning what she'd seen. "I mean it's not bad enough he gets himself almost killed on a regular basis, right?" She chuckled. Mikey smiled a little bit at her. "So, why are you here?"

_I'm going to be SHIELD's archivist. _Mikey informed her.

"So you'll be staying here?" Mikey nodded. "Do you know about Loki?"

_I met him already, he's very angry, isn't he? _Mikey looked contemplative. _Can't say I blame him, though._

"Yeah, I mean, he almost destroyed New York, but even that kind of punishment seems excessive." Pepper replied.

_I'll be teaching him sign language. _Pepper's eyebrows lifted at that.

"Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Pepper Potts, the CEO of Stark Industries." Pepper held out a hand. Mikey took it and shook briefly, then let go. Any further conversation was cut short by the elevator opening and the Avengers spilling into the room.

The Hulk stopped for a moment when he saw Mikey and then lurched forward. Mikey scrambled backwards on the couch. "Mikey." The Hulk growled. Mikey was still for a moment and then slowly stood up, brow furrowed in concentration and worry. She walked up to the Hulk and stared up into his eyes. The Hulk stared back, opening his arms. Mikey smiled again a little and signed 'I love you'. The Hulk looked baffled.

"It means I love you, big guy." Clint supplied. The Hulk huffed and clumsily imitated the movement. Mikey moved forward, standing up on tiptoes and wrapping her arms around his neck as far as they would go. The Hulk carefully hugged back and after a moment began shrinking. In no time at all it was Bruce hugging Mikey.

"Hey, didn't scare you, did he?" Bruce asked worriedly. Mikey shook her head. Bruce gave her a relieved smile. "I guess there's really no good way to introduce you to the Other Guy, is there?" Mikey solemnly shook her head. "I guess I should introduce you to the rest of the team, huh?" Bruce turned Mikey around and pushed her forward. Steve came forward first.

"Hello miss, I'm Captain Steve Rogers, you can call me Steve. Unfortunately I don't know too much sign language yet, so you'll have to bear with me for a little while." Mikey shook his hand while signing to Bruce _He's sweet._

Thor wandered up, smiling broadly. "Good day, young maiden, you are bold to have approached the Hulk so, though he rarely attacks those he calls friend. I am Thor Odinson, god of thunder." Mikey blinked up at him uncertainly and took a step back. "Forgive me, I know my size is imposing."

Bruce signed _He's a big teddy-bear, really. _Making Mikey smile and accept Thor's outstretched hand, which swallowed her own. "And thank you, for agreeing to help my brother." Thor added in a quieter tone. Mikey patted his arm gently. Tony was next.

"Hey, what's up, you got some pretty big balls for a teeny little thing like you, taking on the big guy." Tony grinned. "I'm Tony Stark, and I see you've met the lovely Pepper, how are you doing, Pep?"

"Well, it would have been nice to know she was going to be here beforehand." Tony stared at her a moment.

"Oh, that's what I forgot. I thought it was the alloys thing I forgot to tell you about-"

"That too." Pepper informed him.

"Sorry Pep, been kind of crazy you know, and I think I need to work on the suit some more, giving me some issues with slime getting in the joints." He wandered off, rambling to himself still. Pepper shook her head at him.

"Clint Barton." Clint nodded at Mikey. "I know you're teaching Loki sign language. If the asshole gives you trouble, just tell me and I'll stick an arrow in his ass."

_That makes for an interesting visual. _Mikey commented, making Clint smile.

"Natasha Romanoff. We'll figure out a schedule for me to teach you some self defense." Mikey tilted her head at Natasha. "You're in SHIELD, and while you're not a field agent, you should still know some basic moves to defend yourself."

Mikey nodded her head in understanding, though she looked troubled. Bruce wrapped an arm around her shoulders carefully and squeezed reassuringly.

"Don't forget we have to put her on the roster for making meals." Tony added in. "Hopefully you're better than Thor is."

"Your Midgardian technology is confusing." Thor retorted defensively. "Give me a fire and I can roast you the best boar you've ever tasted." He glared at Tony when he snorted with laughter. "I shall go and check on my brother now."

"Yeah, because that always ends well." Clint muttered. Thor gave him a dark look and strode off, letting the rest of the Avengers help get their new roommate settled in.

"Loki?" A muffled growl came from within Loki's room as his answer. Thor stepped inside gingerly. He sighed, inspecting the mess made by Loki ripping apart his bed and his pillows. Loki glared at him from his position near the window. "Is this the state that Mikey saw you in?" Thor asked. Loki's lips pulled into a sneer. "It's a wonder she didn't turn tail and run."

Loki made another guttural noise in the back of his throat and made a shooing gesture at Thor. "No, brother, I need to speak with you." Thor said sternly. Loki growled again and folded his arms across his chest. "You have been told why Mikey is no longer able to speak?" Loki rolled his eyes and nodded. "I'm certain that Bruce would not have embarrassed Mikey by letting you know something else though." He paused purposely.

Loki lifted one eyebrow and gave him a pointed look, one that always said 'I'm waiting'. "Because of her attack Mikey has become very nervous of being around people she doesn't know and rarely ventures outside for fear of being attacked again. By bringing her here Bruce hopes to at least help her move past some of her fear, but she cannot do that if you frighten her. Please, try not to make her think you'll hurt her."

Loki puffed out his cheeks in irritation and gave Thor a look. "Will you promise me, brother." Thor persisted. Loki rolled his eyes, but nodded his head all the same. "Thank you, brother." Thor smiled in relief. "I'll bring you your meal in a little bit, alright." Loki waved him off impatiently and he left the room.

"Wow, no fireworks this time, he must be mellowing out." Tony commented as Thor wandered back into the living room, seeing that Mikey was busy putting something into the DVD player.

"More like he's tired from destroying his bed." Bruce sighed.

"What, again?!" Tony complained. "He's more destructive than the Other Guy, seriously."

"I think that's a little far-fetched. He hasn't destroyed any buildings recently." Steve argued. "Though that's simply because he has no powers."

"Thank god for small favors." Clint muttered.

"What are we watching?" Thor asked.

"Well, Mikey was kind of horrified that most of us hadn't seen any Doctor Who, so apparently we're going to start watching it tonight." Tony drawled. "No complaints here, great show." Mikey got the DVD started and took a chair on her own, scrunching up as small as she could into it. The team exchanged discreet looks; it was going to take a lot of coaxing to get her back into the real world.

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Star: Review plz!


	4. Chapter 4

Star: I own nothing!

Loki read quietly in his room, for once not feeling rage coursing through him. He wasn't entirely sure where the sudden serenity had come from, but it was a welcome reprieve from the exhausting tantrums he threw, having no other way to express his feelings.

He looked up, surprised by a knock on his door. Thor, the only one who came to see him, just barged right in. He saw though that it was Mikey standing there, and remembered that she was to start teaching him sign language. She gave him a nervous smile and a 'follow me' gesture.

Loki shook his head and pointed down, indicating he wanted to stay in the room to do the lesson. He didn't want to have to deal with the others staring at him. She began to look troubled and shook her head at him. He suddenly realized that the idea of being alone in a room with a strange man was what was making her nervous, and that one of the common areas would settle her nerves a little.

He let out a defeated sigh and nodded his head, moving towards her. Her worried look melted into one of relief and she led the way into the kitchen, where a number of items were already set up at the table. She sat on one side and indicated the seat across from her for him. Positioned in front of him was a little white square, about thirteen inches by thirteen inches in size, along with a couple of markers, and a book. He looked at Mikey and raised an eyebrow, seeing she had the same items, minus the book, in front of her.

Mikey picked up the white square and wrote on it with a marker, showing it to him. **Whiteboard… for communication.** The little square said. She wiped off the words with a sleeve, showing the marker came off quite easily. **We'll start simple, teaching you the alphabet. **She wrote.

**What is the book for? **Loki asked, writing on his own little board. She smiled slightly at him.

**Practice, practice, practice.** She replied. He grimaced, barely noticing anymore the pull from his stitches. It still hurt, and likely always would, but he was getting used to it. Mikey touched her lip absentmindedly, staring at his. Loki glared at her, annoyed by her stare. She hunched her shoulders under his glare, looking like she was trying to hide in her turtleneck.

Loki sighed in and reined in his temper; he wanted this to work. Mikey took a moment to noticeably calm down and then wrote the letter A on her whiteboard before showing him the corresponding sign for it. He mimicked it, feeling faintly foolish, but she gave him an encouraging smile and a nod, indicating that he'd gotten it right.

They did this for each letter and then Mikey had Loki repeat them in order to see how many he had remembered. To his intense frustration he'd remembered only a little more than half the letters, until Mikey informed him that most weren't able to remember that many after their first go at it. She left him then to practice on his own, as she had work to do.

Loki retreated back to his room with his whiteboard, markers and book. He practiced the letters for a little while and then read ahead, trying to get a sense of what he was up for. Of course Thor had to poke his nose in and Loki noted that he seemed to be covered in a layer of slime and was grinning wildly.

"Good day brother, we have just vanquished giant mutant sea creatures." He said jovially. "I must shower, but I wanted to see you first. How did your lesson go?"

**Fine. Go away. **Loki wrote on his whiteboard.

"That's wonderful brother, I shall see you in a little bit." He moved to leave, and then paused. "Oh, and we'll be watching more Doctor Who after dinner. I saw you watching from the shadows last night." Loki growled at him, but the oaf just grinned and wandered away.

%&%&%&%

Natasha stepped up behind Mikey, who was reading in a chair and then walked around so Mikey could see her approaching. Anyone else she would have just snuck up behind and given them a little scare, but not Mikey, not yet anyways. She'd been briefed on Mikey's attack and while it wasn't the most brutal thing she'd ever heard of or seen, it was pretty brutal for a young woman who had never seen violence before.

"We have work to do, you and I." She spoke gently. She was going to have to coax Mikey along. Even now Mikey looked nervous at just the thought of their self defense lessons. "Go put on some shorts and a t-shirt suitable for exercise and I'll meet you down in the gym. Please don't make me have to drag you down, this is required."

Mikey nodded timidly, clearly intimidated by her and ran off. Natasha sighed; this was going to take a while. She headed off to the gym, stripping down to a sports bra and a pair of Under Armour® shorts. She did a couple of easy stretches and breathing exercises while she waited for her new student. She thankfully didn't have to wait long.

"Alright Mikey, come on in. We'll start with a warm-up so you don't accidently pull something." Natasha said. Mikey looked self-conscious in the slightly oversized t-shirt and loose athletic shorts she was wearing. She'd taken off her glasses and Natasha assumed she was wearing contacts instead. Natasha sat down and began stretching and Mikey did the same. Natasha could practically feel the tension coming off the younger girl in waves. She needed to lighten the atmosphere a little.

"I think you've created something of a Doctor Who craze." Natasha commented. "Do you like Star Trek as well?" She received a nod in reply. "Which series do you like best?"

_Next Generations. _

"Yes, that's always been my favorite too, mostly because of Picard." Mikey nodded and smiled a little. "What about Torchwood?"

_I watched season one and two, but when I found out Ianto dies in season three, I refused to watch any further. _Mikey explained.

"If you didn't see it, it didn't happen, right?" This time she got a big smile and an enthusiastic nod. Excellent; Mikey was at least somewhat comfortable. "Alright, let's stand up and see what we have to work with. What's your dominant hand?" Mikey waved her left hand at Natasha. "Alright, we'll start with it, but we'll want to make it so that you can throw punches with both hands equally efficiently." Mikey nodded her head, once again starting to look troubled. "Do you know where to hit someone when they're trying to attack you?"

Mikey mimed kicking someone in the testicles. "That's one way, if you can get at them. The bests spots to hit someone if you're being held or attacked are the solar plexus," She tapped the spot. "And the throat. Do you know why?" Mikey shrugged. "It makes them unable to breathe, and while they're trying to get their breath back you can either keep attacking, or get away."

She gently gripped Mikey's left hand and balled it into a fist, making sure to keep her thumb outside the fist and over the second joints of her fingers. "This is how you keep your hand to punch. Any other way and you risk breaking something, okay?" Mikey bit her lip and nodded. "Alright, let's see you throw a punch at me."

Mikey blinked at her and her brow furrowed in worry. "Trust me when I say you will not actually be able to hit me. If you did, I'd have you signed up to be a combat agent on the spot and maybe checked to make sure you're not a mutant." Mikey smiled nervously at the joke and threw a hesitant punch at Natasha, who caught it. "You need to mean it. You need to get comfortable throwing punches at me so if you have to do it to someone else, you won't get cold feet, understand?"

Mikey nodded and Natasha smiled. "Excellent, now throw another punch at me." By the time Natasha called a halt to their lesson, Mikey was panting and covered in a fine sheen of sweat, whereas Natasha was not even close to winded or sweaty. "We need to get you into shape." Natasha told the gasping girl. "I'll draw up a training regime, and I want you to stick to it. You might be a desk jockey, but anything can happen and we want you to be prepared, yes?"

_You're a sadist._ Mikey signed, with a wry grin on her face. It seemed their sparring had reduced her shyness, at least when it came to Natasha.

"Only to people I like." Natasha joked. Mikey stretched and sighed, silently. From her vantage point Natasha could see the deep scar cut across Mikey's throat that was normally hidden by her turtleneck. She made a point to ignore it, as it obviously embarrassed Mikey. "We have time for a shower before dinner. It's Stark's turn, so let's hope he hasn't blown up the kitchen."

_Scatterbrained? _Mikey asked.

"No, just useless at anything that's not his tech." Natasha snorted. "The man's a walking disaster, but he does have his uses, sometimes. Well, at least we can look forward to more Doctor Who afterward. How long do you think it will take for Loki to realize he's not being as sneaky as he thinks?"

Mikey shrugged her shoulders. "Think we'll get to the Empty Child episode tonight?" Natasha asked. Mikey grinned and nodded. "Oh good, the guys won't be sleeping tonight after that."

_Just wait until they get to the Weeping Angels, the Silence and the Vashta Nerada. _Natasha laughed, liking the mischievous twinkle in the normally reserved girl's eyes.

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	5. Chapter 5

Star: I own nothing!

Steve couldn't sleep; not that he ever slept well, not since he'd woken up and found that seventy years had gone by. There was always that fear that he would go to sleep, wake up and find another seventy years had passed. Not to mention when he slept there were always, always nightmares; ice and cold, intermixed with the horrors of war.

He gave up on trying to sleep and sat up, the lights in his room turning on as he did so. He looked around, eyes settling on his art supplies for a moment and then flicking away. What he really wanted right now was to hear the sound of another human voice.

"JARVIS?" He croaked out.

"**Yes,Captain Rogers?" **The fact that Stark had a talking computer looking out for the whole place still weirded him out a little, especially since JARVIS sounded so damned human.

"Is anyone else awake?"

"**Mister Stark is down in his workshop." **JARVIS replied helpfully.

"Great, thank you." Steve said, standing up.

"**My pleasure, sir." **

Steve padded out of his room, heading downstairs and to the elevator. Once inside he leaned his head against the wall. He wasn't sure why he was going down to bother Stark. The two of them weren't real buddy-buddy at all. He just needed to know there was someone else in this place, someone real and if nothing else, Stark was loud, in your face and very real.

He came out on the workshop floor and immediately he winced as his ears were assaulted by overly loud rock music. Something like a robotic arm with wheels raced over to him and he yelped in surprise, making Tony, who was sitting at his workbench welding something, look up.

"Hey, it's alright, that's just Dummy. Say hi to Captain America, Dummy!" Stark said, far too cheerful for this late hour. The robotic arm tilted its hand/head at him and chirped.

"Dummy?" Steve asked incredulously. He tentatively patted the thing on its head, making it bob up and down and then zoom off.

"Not my fault, he latched onto the name before I really knew what I was doing. Seventeen at the time, you know, kind of stupid really." Stark rambled. "You and Buttefingers are charging, otherwise they'd be all over you too, don't get many visitors down here."

Steve shook away his initial surprise and gave Stark a stern look. "You should be sleeping."

"So should you." Stark replied flippantly. "Aw, not that look again, Cap, please. I'm fine, I've been running like this for years, you don't need to look after me, Pepper…" He trailed off and a faint lost expression flickered across his face. Steve's mind clicked to the last couple days, the hushed phone conversations and the strain in Stark's and Ms. Potts' voices.

"You and Pepper, you broke up, didn't you?" He asked.

"Yeah well, didn't work out you know. Too self-obsessed, volatile, burn everyone I touch. People leave, they always leave. Pepper leaves, you'll leave…"

"Stark…"

"I mean I get, not much good to be around, can't believe you've let me stay on the team this long, you don't much like me-"

"Tony." Stark… Tony looked up, eyebrows raised in surprise at his use of his real name. "I'm not leaving, nor is the rest of the team. We like it here… we like you." Tony snorted derisively. "Okay, yes, you rub me the wrong way sometimes, but you've got a killer sense of humour and you see things in a different way than most and that comes in handy. And obviously you're incredible with your hands…" Steve gestured to the entire workshop. "We're staying, Tony. You can believe in that."

And in that moment, with Tony staring at him, Steve realized that the arrogant, brash persona he associated with Tony was as much armour as the Iron Man suit. The man that sat before him was frightened, lost, alone and believed that he would always be that way and somehow deserved it. He knew he'd been too quick to judge Tony Stark after he'd nearly sacrificed himself, but here he could see just how wrong all of his assumptions were.

"Cap…Steve…I…" Tony stuttered out. "Did you come down here just to give me a pep talk?" Steve smiled slowly.

"Couldn't sleep, figured it was better time spent bugging you rather than lying awake in bed." Tony grinned slightly at that.

"What, did the Empty Child freak you out that much?"

"Great, I'd actually stopped thinking about that." Steve groused. Tony laughed, a full-bellied chuckle. It was nice to hear.

"Just wait till the later seasons." He warned, brown eyes twinkling mischievously. "Well, if you're going to be down here, you might as well find something to do. Hey, you like drawing, why not play with some computer animation."

"Okay, but how?" Tony tapped something on the bench and a hovering holoscreen came up. He let it drift over to the other side of the table where Steve was.

"Go crazy, you can't hurt it, trust me, I've tried." Steve poked at the screen and a little blob of colour sprang up. He sat down and happily began figuring out how to use the animation program, Tony's muttering a pleasant background noise.

%&%&%&%

Bruce yawned, pouring himself a cup of coffee and heading to the kitchen table, where Clint had already laid out a spread of pancakes, bacon, French toast, eggs and fruit. They'd all been a little surprised the first time that Clint had demonstrated his cooking skills, but they enjoyed it, so not even Tony ribbed him about it.

Everyone else filtered in, and Bruce was surprised to see Tony and Steve come out of the elevator together, both looking like they hadn't slept at all. Mikey wandered in, giving him a small smile as she sat down beside him. Natasha sat down on her other side. Thor plunked down beside Bruce and Steve and Tony sat down beside Clint on the other side of the table.

"You know, I couldn't sleep a damn last night thanks to that creepy zombie kid." Clint growled at Mikey. Mikey ducked her head, but Bruce could see a faint smile playing about her lips. Natasha snorted at her partner.

"If you thought that was scary, you're not going to make it past season three." She scoffed.

"Oh Jesus, what happens in season three?" Clint demanded.

"Shh, spoilers." Tony said, placing a finger at his lips as he did so. Bruce let out a chuckle, Natasha smirked and Mikey's mouth opened in a silent laugh. "Oh, so you can't make any sound at all?" Tony asked, looking interested. Mikey immediately tried to disappear into her turtleneck, looking embarrassed. "Hey, no reason to be ashamed about being defective, I'm defective too, see?"

He lifted his shirt, showing off the arc reactor to her. Mikey lifted her head, looking fascinated by it. "Know what this is?" She shook her head. "Called an arc reactor, I made it myself. See what it does is it keeps the shrapnel running around my veins from reaching my heart and killing me. So this thing dies, I die. So I'm defective, but this little power source in my chest lets me use the Iron Man suit, so defective isn't so bad."

Everyone was silent after Tony's speech. Most of them knew about the arc reactor, the little circle of light in Tony's chest, but they hadn't really known the significance behind it. Tony looked around at them all, grin fading at their expressions.

"Tony, why haven't you told any of us about this?" Steve asked quietly.

"Oh please don't give me the face, Steve." Tony pleaded. "It's not something I talk about, it doesn't affect you guys-"

"It does." Clint interjected. "That thing dies on you, how are we supposed to help you, are we just supposed to let you die?"

"I've got spares." Tony protested.

"And if you're unconscious, how are you going to change it out?" Natasha demanded. "We should all have access to these spares and you need to let us know how to replace them."

"Why am I being ganged up on here?" Tony asked weakly, honestly perplexed.

"Because, Tony Stark, you are our teammate and our friend. We do not want to see you fall." Thor rumbled. Tony's face twitched slightly, like he wasn't sure whether to laugh or do something else.

"Well I…I guess I can show you after breakfast, so long as we don't get called out." Tony shrugged helplessly, giving in to the concerned stares aimed his way. The tension in the room ebbed away and they settled in to enjoy their breakfast.

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	6. Chapter 6

Star: I own nothing!

Loki tapped his fingers against the surface of the table, waiting for Mikey to arrive to start their lesson. He'd not managed to master the alphabet since the other day's lesson, and it frustrated him. He was hoping Mikey might have some sort of memory trick to help him out.

Mikey finally arrived and Loki gave the clock a pointed look. Mikey grinned bashfully and wrote **Sorry** on her little whiteboard. Loki raised an eyebrow at her, but did not ask. They set about reviewing what he had learned last time.

To Loki's intense frustration he still could not remember the entire alphabet and was having troubles forming his fingers into the right shape for certain letters. After the third time failing to get through the entire alphabet without a mistake his temper exploded and he smashed his fists into the table in a fit of rage.

Immediately Mikey jerked back in her chair, eyes wide and terrified, face drained of all colour. Too late Loki remembered her fears. He balled his hands into fists and breathed loudly through his nose, closing his eyes to try and bring his temper back under his control. He dropped his head onto the table, forcing down his destructive urges. He needed Mikey's help, he didn't want to scare her off, though it might be a little late for that.

After a few long, agonizing moments of forcing down the compulsion to scream Loki felt a tentative hand touch his head. He slowly lifted his head as the hand moved to rest on his shoulder. He looked into kind, understanding green-hazel eyes and felt his rage die away again, leaving him tired and forlorn.

Mikey went back to her place and picked up her whiteboard. **I know it's hard, but it's going to take time.** Loki nodded in understanding. **You are allowed to feel frustrated though. My old therapist told me that keeping emotions hidden does more harm than a few good temper tantrums. **He smiled slightly at that.

Mikey tilted her head slightly and ran her finger over her lips as she stared at him. She held up a finger and then left the table, heading upstairs, presumably to her room. He touched his lips, grimacing at the feel of the stitches. They were very dry because of his circumstances, and stung a little in spots where the skin had split. Of course the holes through which the thread was pulled had not healed and still bled when he pulled at them, but he'd gotten used to that.

Mikey came back down and held out a small white tube to him labelled Chapstick. He looked at it and then raised an eyebrow at her. She pulled a similar looking tube out of her pocket and pulled off the cap and rubbed it on her lips.

**It's to keep your lips from getting too dry. **She explained. **I thought you'd find it useful. **She looked away from him, shy once more. Loki opened the tube and rubbed the substance on his lips. Along with moistening his dry lips it took away some of the sting. He let out a muffled, grateful sigh and smiled slightly at Mikey.

They started again and Loki found it was a little easier to control his temper this time around. When he found he was having trouble again remembering how to place his fingers Mikey reached across the table, grasped his hand and moved his fingers into the right position. The two of them looked equally surprised by the gesture.

After an hour of work Loki felt a little more confident in his ability to make letters with his hands. Mikey had smiled and him and left to go back to her work. "I must say, you surprised me." Loki jumped in his seat and turned to glare at the Black Widow. Agent Romanoff merely smiled curtly at him and walked over, inspecting the sign language book in front of Loki despite his warning growl. "She's stronger than she thinks." Agent Romanoff commented after a moment of silence.

Taken by surprise, Loki nodded his head in agreement. He stood up, preparing to head back to his room. "You know, you are allowed to venture out for more than just these lessons." Agent Romanoff commented. "It can't be very comfortable peeking around a corner in order to watch Doctor Who, like you've been doing."

Loki turned back, brow furrowed, eyes questioning her. Agent Romanoff nodded. "Once upon a time a man decided to take a chance on a deadly killer. Since then I believe in giving chances to everyone, regardless of how much red they have in their ledger. And just like Mikey, you are more than what you think you are."

%&%&%&%

Steve padded out of his room about midnight, deciding to see if Tony was up for some company again. When he got out into the living room he saw Clint and Bruce by the TV, arguing over a pile of movies. "Hey, you two." He said, walking over.

"How does a big guy like you move so quiet?" Clint asked. "Can't sleep either?" Steve shook his head. "Join us. Me and Freckles were going to watch a movie."

"Freckles?" Steve asked, raising an eyebrow at Bruce.

"Don't ask me, he just came up with it." Bruce shrugged. "We're trying to decide between Disney movies, to be completely honest, I don't want know if you want to watch kids' movies or not."

"I like kids' movies." Steve answered. "Tony's probably up, I think I'll see if he wants to join us, wait till I get back?"

"You the boss." Clint replied. Steve was happy Clint was relaxing around them all. For the first several days he was rather stiff. Steve had a feeling part of that was guilt for his actions in the Loki incident, but none of them blamed him for that. He was now showing quite the playful, comedic streak.

Steve stepped into Tony's workroom, wincing at the loud music. Dummy rolled up to him, along with the two other bots that must be You and Butterfingers. He took a moment to pat each one, amused when they all let out happy-sounding chirps.

"Hey, hey, they're supposed to be working, you're being a bad influence, Cap." Tony informed him, waving a wrench in the air at Steve. "Aw what the hell, I'm done anyways I guess."

"Well, if you're not up for sleeping, me, Bruce and Clint were going to put on a movie upstairs. Would you like to join us?" Steve asked.

"What movie?"

"Don't know yet, something Disney. But if you don't like Disney-"

"Don't like Disney, who could not love Disney? You'd have to have no soul to hate Disney!" Tony grinned. "Yeah, okay, it's been a little while since I've watched anything Disney. Let me get everything shut down, alright?"

Steve waited patiently as Tony sort of cleaned up, got his bots settled in for the night, and all the machinery shut down and then the two of them headed upstairs. Clint and Bruce had apparently decided by the time they got up and were waiting to put on the movie.

"So, what are we watching?" Tony asked.

"Lilo and Stitch." Clint answered, lounging lazily on the couch.

"Ooh, good choice. Move over Legolas." Tony plunked himself down on the couch. Steve sat down as well. With four of them sharing it was a little squished and Steve was acutely aware of Tony's thigh and shoulder against his. They were just starting the movie when Tony twisted around in his seat, earning a complaint from Clint.

"Hey, you, yeah I see you hiding in the shadows. Come on out, come watch, you are allowed you know." Tony called. Steve couldn't see who he was talking to. "Come on, we don't bite. Clint might use you for target practice, but that's fair I think."

Loki stepped out of the shadows by the stairs. Dressed only in an oversized t-shirt and a pair of boxers, he looked strangely vulnerable. He hovered for a moment, eyes flicking over all of them warily. Finally he moved, slowly and cat-like, to an empty chair and lowered himself into it. Clint and Loki proceeded to have a staring contest for a long moment before Clint grunted and nodded his head.

"Alright, let's get this started." Tony said cheerfully. "I'm going to warn you right now, I'm a talker, I like to talk during movies."

"If it gets annoying we'll find some duct tape." Bruce assured him. Tony laughed and reached over Clint to ruffle Bruce's hair. Bruce played the movie. Steve leaned to Clint and whispered

"You took that rather well, considering."

"Yeah, well, Tasha gave me a bit of a talk. She reminded me of a job where I was supposed to put down a very dangerous and famous assassin, and then decided not to." Clint said simply. "She thinks there's something there worth holding onto in Loki, and I trust her judgement, so, we'll see."

"Yeah, I guess we will."

"You two be quiet, I'm trying to watch!"

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	7. Chapter 7

Star: I own nothing!

Natasha watched Mikey run on the treadmill, timing her carefully. The young woman was red-faced with the effort and puffing her breaths. Still, she was better than Natasha had expected, and she suspected that Mikey had been quite active before her stabbing had confined her to the familiar indoors.

"Time." She called. Mikey turned off the treadmill and got off it, panting as she drank from her water bottle. "Not bad. Were you an athlete before?"

_Cross-country runner. _Mikey confirmed. _Nice to see I haven't lost all of my skill. _

"Take a rest for five minutes and then we'll start with defensive training." Mikey opened her mouth in a silent groan, but her eyes were smiling. Mikey leaned down and stretched her body, loosening up. Natasha noted with satisfaction that the idea of learning self defense no longer seemed to make her nervous, as it had when they'd started a week ago.

"How are you doing with Loki?" Natasha asked as she worked through blocks and punches with Mikey. Mikey shrugged her shoulders and see-sawed her head from side to side.

_He's a fast learner, though he still gets frustrated easily. _Mikey paused, brow furrowed in thought. _He tries very hard not to lose his temper around me. _

"That is interesting." Natasha was of the opinion that Loki's motivation was partly the knowledge that if he scared her too bad she would no longer teach him, and partly because he feared Bruce's wrath. It didn't really matter, so long as he kept his temper in check, she didn't care why.

_He seems…. lonely. _Mikey added. _I think he believes that no one here wants anything to do with him. _

"He's half right." Natasha replied. "We don't want to deal with him when he's being a pissy drama queen." Mikey laughed silently at this and nodded. "He actually came out of his room to do something other than have his lessons with you the other day." Mikey tilted her head at her. "They were watching Lilo and Stitch late one night and Loki joined them."

_Wish I'd known about that. _Mikey made a face.

"Don't sleep well either?" Natasha sighed. "None of us tend to sleep very well, so we try to do something to occupy our minds."

_Maybe I'll join you some time. _

"Feel free. Now, back to work." Mikey rolled her eyes, but got into position anyways.

%&%&%&%

Loki tapped his fingers on the kitchen table. He was early, he knew that, but somehow he was tired of just hiding in his room all the time. He was thinking about the movie with the little blue alien in it, mulling over some of the themes of the story.

"Hey, Mr. Vampire's finally emerging from his coffin more often." He glared at Stark, but the insufferable mortal just smiled and sat down across from him. "What you thinking about?" Loki glared at him some more. "Come on, I'll tell you if you tell me."

**Ohana. **Loki wrote on his white board.

"Ohana, ohhhaaannnnaaaa….been doing a little bit of that too. 'Cause you know, none of us really have a family anymore. Well, Thor does, but it's on another planet, and Mikey's got Bruce, but… most of us don't have an ohana anymore, but what's really strange is I think this," He gestured around the entire floor. "Is becoming ohana."

Loki raised an eyebrow at him. "I mean it's silly, right? But we all live together and we start to figure out each other and get closer to each other and I don't know…" Tony scratched his head. "And then there's Steve, I'm not sure about Steve, I mean he can't really like being down in my shop with me, no one likes my shop, sorry I'm just rambling now, and oh hello Mikey."

Loki looked up and found Mikey staring at Tony, eyebrows raised in an incredulous expression. "Loki and I were just talking. Have you seen Steve? I'm supposed to be letting him beat me up with me in my armour." Mikey shrugged her shoulders. "Aw well, that's what building AIs are for I guess. We starting series 2 of Doctor Who tonight?" Mikey nodded. "Good, because Clint keeps freaking out about the regeneration thing and no one is allowed to tell him what actually happened." Mikey laughed silently at that.

**Mean.** She wrote on her board. **But funny. Now shoo, we have work to do. **

"Alrighty then, see you later, if Steve hasn't broken every bone in my body." Tony waved goodbye and headed out. Mikey grinned slightly at Loki and rolled her eyes. Loki didn't return the sentiment, though his lips did twitch ever so slightly.

**Let's begin with some shorthand for certain words. **Mikey wrote. Loki focused on her, giving her his full attention. She dropped her eyes for a moment under his intense stare and then met them again. He could still see the fear in her eyes, but there was the beginnings of trust there as well.

%&%&%&%&%

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Clint looked up and grinned at Tony. He was well aware that he had flour on his face, but so did Bruce.

"We're baking." Clint replied.

"At two in the morning?" Tony raised his eyebrows. Clint raised one back. "Alright, what are you making?"

"Well I think we have cookies, and I think muffins as well." Bruce said.

"Cupcakes." Clint corrected, rubbing a bit of flour off Bruce's nose. Bruce grinned shyly. Clint giggled childishly.

"Wow, someone give you happy pills?" Tony asked, dipping a finger in the cookie batter.

"Caffeine…" Bruce sighed. "He had an espresso, apparently it makes him happy."

"I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and gay!" Clint sang out, prompting a laugh from Tony. "Come on you fuckers I know you know this song."

"I feel charming, oh so charming, it's alarming how charming I feel!" Tony sang.

"Hey not bad." Clint complimented. "Should get a barbershop quartet going on here, wonder if Steve can sing?"

"Or maybe Thor, although I think we'd all be deafened by him." Bruce added. "Quit eating the batter Tony, you're going to get salmonella."

"Yes mother." Tony replied cheerfully. "I'm not going to get involved in this further, I burn water."

"I know, I tasted that slop you tried to pass as spaghetti." Clint threw a handful of flour at Tony.

"Ooh, not everybody can be a master chef like you, Legolas." Tony teased, chucking flour back. "So, you seem to be settling into the idea of Loki being here."

"Okay, if you're trying to be trying to act like Steve… I don't think it's going to work."

"No, no, Cap does the whole team mom better than me, definitely, but I'm curious. First couple days you wanted to poke him full of arrows, but now…" Tony shrugged. "What happened?"

"You know, I'm not sure about that myself." Clint replied finally. "Part of it is Tasha, reminding me of her past, and mine, but… I think it's seeing him like this, brought down, vulnerable, he doesn't seem like the monster I've made him up in my mind to be. I'm not going to ever like him, but I don't think it's right for me to add to the pain he's already dealing with. And then last night with Lilo and Stitch…"

"Yeah, actually had a bit of a conversation with him about that. Ohana."

"Ohana." Bruce repeated. "Kind of a funny thing isn't it? Family."

"Not that any of us really have that anymore, do we?" Clint put the cupcakes in the oven, avoiding looking at either of them.

"Well, not in the conventional way, anyways." Bruce rubbed his glasses, looking thoughtful. "But if you look at it in terms of a group of people who look out for each other, and care about each other… It might be a little early to be trying to dissect this, but in my case, I'd be devastated if any of you left or died or something awful happened to you."

"Bruce, that's sweet, that really is. And you know what, I really like all you crazy kids too." Tony grinned. "Enough depressing talk, this is supposed to be fun time, what else can we do?"

"Anybody here for video games?" Clint asked.

"Anything but really scary horror stuff, unless you want the Other Guy to smash the TV." Bruce told them, prompting nervous giggles.

"You know, you could really abuse that power, pulling the big guy into arguments." Tony speculated.

"Who says I haven't already?" Bruce teased, making Tony laugh and clap him on the shoulder.

"Come on Freckles, let's trounce Iron Butt on Super Smash Bros." Clint called.

"Iron Butt? Is that the best you can come up with? Although I do have a nice toned ass." It was surprising that their laughter didn't wake up the entire tower after that.

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Star: Review plz!


	8. Chapter 8

Star: I own nothing!

Loki watched Mikey discreetly as she cut up vegetables for dinner. It was interesting to see her in these moments when she believe no one was around because it was the only time that she was completely relaxed. Curiosity was a trait that many mortals would consider out of place in his character but curiosity was merely a precursor to mischief. Mikey fascinated him because she treated his weakness, his inability to communicate, with compassion, rather than the contempt he expected and had known all his life.

She was listening to music and swaying to the beat of it, a soft, contented smile upon her face. All the walls she'd built up to protect herself were down and Loki could see a hint of the passionate spirit her reserved nature hid. Knowing full well it would cause her to retreat back into her shell he stepped out of the shadows and walked up to her. She stopped dancing and her face flushed with embarrassment.

She smiled timidly at him and turned, grabbing the blender out of the dishwasher. She held it up for him to see and gave him an inquiring look. He nodded, understanding what she was trying to ask. She gathered up the carrots she'd been cutting and dumped them in the pan of soup simmering on the stove and went to the fridge, grabbing yogurt, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and a banana. She set up the blender, picked up the yogurt and then paused, gazing at him thoughtfully.

After a few moments of silent contemplation she showed him the yogurt and then signed **Yogurt **to him. He quickly caught onto her game and repeated the signs back to her. She grinned widely, pleased enough that she'd discovered a new method to teach him that she forgot her fears for a moment. She did the same thing with each of the ingredients, including the ice she put in at the end.

Then she quizzed him, tapping a certain ingredient and seeing if he remembered the signs for it. This was far easier, now that he had a visual representation for what he was trying to spell. It made it easier to remember, to call up the images, though he still had a couple of screw-ups.

Mikey was nearly beside herself with glee as she poured them both a tall glass of smoothie. She even went so far as to clink her glass against his before drinking from it. Loki couldn't help the smile that tugged his lips upward, it was after all a triumph for him as well as her.

Loki moved around the kitchen island as Mikey briskly stirred her pot of soup again. The simmering mix of vegetables, meat, noodles and its rich aroma made him crave for the ability to eat normally. Something must have shown in his face, because suddenly there was a tentative hand touching his arm. Loki looked down into grave, understanding eyes.

Mikey held up a finger, turned down the heat on the stove, and ran upstairs. Loki frowned in puzzlement; what had brought that on? Only a moment later Mikey came hurrying back down the stairs carrying a large book with her. She placed it down gently on the counter and opened it, revealing page after page of pictures.

**Photos. **She signed, and Loki dutifully repeated it back to her. He stared at the pictures, finding a younger Mikey featured in most of them. What struck Loki the most was how confident she looked, how happy she seemed, grinning into the camera, eyes bright with merriment. There were pictures of her running in a race, pictures of her singing in front of an audience, pictures of her in a bathing suit, displaying her body instead of hiding it.

Loki looked up to meet her eyes and she looked away, ashamed of what she'd become. Part of him whispered he was weak, allowing her past to affect her so. But he understood what it was like to have innocence ripped away from him. He had reacted in anger and allowed it to turn to hatred; she had reacted out of fear and allowed herself to retreat away from the world. Both reactions had equally destructive consequences to both of them, and had nothing to bring them peace.

They stared at one another for a long moment, finding their pains mirrored in the other's eyes. Stark and Banner coming out of the elevator snapped them out of their reverie. Mikey slammed her book shut and hid it under the table, looking guilty. Loki just took what was left of his smoothie and wandered off. Stark and Banner didn't notice him, too wrapped up in their scientific argument. He went to hide in his room, brooding about both his and Mikey's predicament.

%&%&%&%

"Another late night bonanza, huh?" Tony asked as he sauntered into the middle of an argument over How to Train Your Dragon and the Road to El Dorado. Surprisingly it was Thor and Natasha arguing, the latter giving him a warning glare that made him quickly and instinctively duck.

"Tony, please tell Natasha that we must watch the Dragon movie, it has Vikings in it!" Thor pleaded.

"Sorry buddy, but Natasha scares me more than you do. Besides, haven'r seen El Dorado in ages, and it rocks!" Thor grumped, but didn't look too put out about not getting to watch his movie. "Guaranteed there will be more late nights and more opportunities to watch what you want to watch."

Like he had when they'd watched Lilo and Stitch, Loki crept in and settled himself into an armchair. Thor, surprisingly, stayed quiet about Loki's presence. Tony thought the big guy was finally figuring out the more he pushed Loki, the more Loki pulled away, and that Loki needed some space. After a couple more minutes, Tony was surprised to see Mikey come to stand just outside of the circle of light created by the TV, looking uncertain.

"Hey, come on over, we don't bite." Tony persuaded, pausing the movie.

"Stark, move over beside Thor." Natasha ordered.

"But I like the corner spot." Tony whine. Natasha gave him a look that froze his blood. "Okay, okay, please don't kill me."

He got up and Natashs shifted over to make room beside Thor. She smiled, actually smiled, at Mikey and gestured for her to come and sit. Mikey sat down in the corner spot beside Natasha, looking more at ease with the older woman beside her.

"Okay then." Tony muttered and turned the movie back on. It was just mind boggling to see a softer side to Natasha, who, quite frankly, terrified him more than most of the villains they'd come up against, including the Chitauri! He supposed it made sense though; Mikey was more likely to react better to a female presence and Natasha knew that.

As the opening sequence began, Tony hummed along to the opening music, about to burst into song when Thor elbowed him in the ribs to be quiet. Because it was Thor it meant that his ribs would be bruised to hell by tomorrow. He shrugged it off though. Thor couldn't help his strength and for the most part was very good at keeping it in check when dealing with his less durable teammates.

After about five minutes he noticed Natasha and Mikey talking to each other in sign language, grinning. He was able to pick out the occasional word, but they were too fast for him!

"Heym what are you ladies yapping about? No talking during the movie!" Tony teased. Mikey grinned at his joke.

"Oh like that's ever stopped you." Natasha retorted. "Mikey and I were just saying Miguel reminds us of you a bit."

"I'm not sure if I'm insulted or not by that." Tony said.

Natasha just smirked at him and went back to watching the movie. During the scene on the boat with Tulio and Miguel Thor started suddenly laughing uncontrollably out of nowhere.

"What's up with you?" Tony asked, poking Thor in the arm.

"These two remind me of my brother and myself." Thor explained, wiping tears of mirth away. "Do you not agree, brother?" Loki looked at Thor and raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I see it." Natasha agreed. "At least in context of the stories you've told us."

"Oh, that makes this movie soooo much better." Tony laughed.

"What does that mean?" Thor asked suspiciously.

"You'll see." Tony replied cheerfully.

When Tulio and Miguel were mistaken for gods Thor laughed and laughed. Tony was damned sure he saw a smile appear on Loki's face as well, though it was gone quickly and the Trickster glared at him when he noticed he was staring.

When the movie was over Thor, Natasha and Mikey retired, leaving Loki and Tony still sitting in the living room. Tony tapped at the arc reactor, a nervous habit of his. "You know Thor talks about the adventures you guys used to have all the time." He said idly. Loki stared at him expressionlessly. "To hear him talk it sounds like you were the one to get him and his other buddies out of most of the trouble you guys got into. He says he always envied your quick mind." Tony added slyly. "He says he wishes he'd told you that more often."

Loki gave him a half-suspicious, half-incredulous look and then snorted. "Eh, enough heart-to-heart. Movie, TV or video games?"

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Star: Review plz!


	9. Chapter 9

Star: I own nothing!

Steve stared at the holoscreen for a moment, contemplating the shade of blue he had, and then rejected it. It wasn't quite right. He played around with the hues again, adding a little more white to the mix and then applied the new colour. He eyed it critically, and then nodded his head, finally happy with it.

"So, whatcha working on so hard over there?" Tony asked from his work bench. "You been frowning at your screen for the last half hour."

"Oh, just a silly little animation. Couldn't get the one colour quite right." Steve answered evasively. He didn't want Tony seeing it, not yet, not until it was ready.

"You get the same look on your face when you're thinking up battle tactics, it's quite sexy." Steve had gotten used to Tony's flirting. Tony flirted with everyone after all, wasn't anything new. He still couldn't help the blush that rose to his face and that made Tony cackle with laughter.

"Hey, Iron Butt!" Clint called as he walked into the workshop. "Got something.. WHOA!"

Clint's exclamation was due to Dummy rolling up to inspect their new visitor. "It's okay, Clint. That's Dummy, he's friendly."

"Dummy?" Dummy tugged at Clint's shirt. "What's he want?"

"He wants to be petted." Steve laughed.

"Okay, hey, how about a high five?" Clint asked, holding up a hand. Dummy's arm tilted at him and he chirped. "Here, like this." Clint tapped his hand against Dummy's. He held out his hand again and this time Dummy bounced his claw against Clint's palm. "Alright, good job buddy!"

"Hey, Hawkass, you come down here for anything besides distracting my helper?" Tony asked.

"Oh, yeah, was wondering if you had any other ideas for tricking out my arrows. You know something like an electric arrow, or something else cool like that."

"Sure, I can pimp your arrows, a lot better than those SHIELD lackeys can, any day." Tony grinned. "So long as you don't mind being testing dummy for some of the more dangerous ideas, of course."

"I can take anything you can dish out." Clint declared.

"Whoa boy, save the flirting for Banner, will you?" Tony teased. Clint opened and then shut his mouth again.

"At least I'm getting some." He finally responded cheekily and then sauntered out of the workshop, Tony cackling with laughter as he left. Steve was just staring at the spot where Clint had been, trying to process what had just happened.

"Steve, Steve, you alright?" Tony was suddenly in front of him, waving hands in front of his face.

"Are they really…?" Steve asked.

"Well, they been flirting with each other since we all started living here. I don't know if they've gone past that, Bruce has a few little problems that he's nervous about letting people get too close to him." Tony rubbed the back of his head. "You don't have a problem with that sort of thing, do you?"

"That sort of…? No, no, I don't. I mean it wasn't really talked about, except in sermons on hell and sin, but I never much paid attention to those. I mean you love who you love right, and what does it matter if they're a man or a woman or-" Tony flapped a hand at him, silencing him.

"Easy, Cap, no need to get all excited. Just not something we ever discussed, and you know what it should be seeing as it's this whole big thing right now."

"What is, exactly?"

"Homosexual rights." Tony answered. "Same-sex couples are fighting for the right to get married, to adopt kids, hell there's queer kids who are simply fighting to be accepted in their schools and not be bullied. It's a fucking mess and so many people are using religion to tell these kids they're evil and wrong and going to hell and that's why I hate religion, because it's all so stupid and-"

"Tony, you're ranting." Steve said sternly. Tony threw up his hands and then flopped down on the couch next to Steve, leaning his head on Steve's arm.

"Sorry, it makes me mad, you know? There's kids killing themselves because they're hated and they hate themselves and it just sucks." Tony sighed.

"Tony, are you…?"

"I'm bisexual, go both ways." Tony grinned up at him. "What about you, big guy? Any curious tendencies, or are you strictly on the straight and narrow."

"I… I'm not really sure. I mean there was Peggy, of course." Steve swallowed past the lump in his throat and continued. "But I can appreciate when a fella's good looking, you know?"

"Think you might be a little bi, buddy." Tony told him seriously. "We should think about doing some kind of PSA on homophobia, the Avengers, I mean. Couldn't hurt, right?"

"Is everyone on the same page with this though?" Steve asked anxiously.

"Well, obviously there's Bruce and Clint, and obviously Natasha's going to know about that immediately, so she's not a problem. I don't think Thor will be a problem either, I've caught him ogling the odd guy occasionally."

"We should talk to Fury about it first." Steve suggested.

"Of course, the old pirate can get into it too, have a pink eyepatch on, get him into the spirit." Steve snorted with laughter at that. "Eh, something to think about. The Avengers got a lot of fans, why not do something with that, save some lives that kicking bad guy ass can't save."

"I suppose it would be good to get the Avengers involved in that sort of thing. I hate press conferences though, all those lights and cameras and questions. Give me a bunch of 12 year old kids to sing and punch Hitler to any day."

"Oh, thank you for reminding me about that." Tony laughed. "I have all these old pictures of you in that get-up and with the chorus girls. Hilarious!" Steve felt himself blush again as Tony laughed raucously. He liked hearing Tony laugh though and decided that hearing it was worth being made to blush so much.

%&%&%&%

Clint was outside on the balcony, but he wasn't watching the city below. He had his back against the railing and was watching Mikey and Loki inside, working on Loki's sign language. He didn't quite trust the Trickster with the kid, even if he had yet to do anything to hurt her. He'd seen what Loki's temper was capable of, and he wanted to make sure none of them got hurt.

Clint had figured out even before watching Lilo and Stitch that the Avengers was his new family. He'd protect them to the death from just about anything, including crazy Norse gods. Mikey was just the newest edition to the family, and she needed more protection than the others. She wasn't nearly as flighty as she'd been when she first got there and Tasha was pleased with her progress in terms of self defense.

He was surprised when he saw Loki start to lose his temper, and then visibly make an effort to reign it in. Ah, so Natasha hadn't been kidding when she said that Loki seemed to have taken a shine to Mikey. At least he was making an effort with her while everyone else just got snarled at if they got too close. Although he hadn't been doing so much of that lately either.

He turned away, having seen enough to be satisfied that Mikey wouldn't need his help and turned his mind over to Bruce. _That_ had taken him by surprise. It started almost immediately, when Freckles had changed back into himself after the Chitauri incident, his first reaction was making sure he hadn't hurt anyone of his teammates or anyone innocent. Clint had found it sweet and quite cute and was immediately smitten.

From there it was just a downward spiral. Bruce was quiet, reserved and not a fighter in his regular form. He was such a contrast to Clint himself that he found it refreshing. He also found Bruce's techno-babble unbearably cute, and the little impish streak he displayed when refusing to tell him what was going on in Doctor Who was equally adorable. It helped that they both loved to bake, and both hated horror movies. It helped that they both had nightmares, about hurting those they cared about, and could comfort each other without even talking.

Bruce had worried about Tasha, but Clint had set him straight about that. They loved each other, but they were like family to each other. Maybe there could have been something between them once, but they'd both agreed it was for the best they didn't get involved with each other. Too risky, considering their line of work.

He supposed he did owe Loki a little bit of thanks in the end. If it was for him he wouldn't have met Bruce, and wouldn't be slowly wooing the good doctor. Not that he'd ever let Loki know that.

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Star: Review plz!


	10. Chapter 10

Star: I own nothing!

Bruce sipped his tea and sighed happily. Living in the Tower meant he could ask for the best instead of scrounging for cheap packets of tea. It was nice not having to be constantly looking over his shoulder, or having to run and hide. It was certainly relaxing to be able to wake up and know that he'd be able to sleep in the same bed the next night.

Mikey wandered into the kitchen, looking sleep-frazzled but content. He'd walked in on her and Tony playing some form of Star Wars video game late last night. He was relieved to see her settling in so well; some of his new friends could be pretty intense and he was worried.

"Get any sleep at all?" He asked teasingly. She lifted her hand in a see-saw gesture. "Tony's a bad influence." She smiled and nodded. "How are things going with Loki?" He asked. That was the big concern for him, but Loki seemed to be behaving himself. Still, she was family, and his responsibility, so he had to make sure she was doing alright.

_He's a fast learner, I'm impressed. _Mikey signed.

"No problems with him?" Bruce pressed. Mikey shook her head.

_He seems lonely. _She admitted. _And ashamed of himself. _

"What, you think he feels bad about what he did, or is he just ashamed of the stitches?" Mikey shrugged dismissively.

_He seems wounded, hurt. _Mikey shrugged again. She got the coffee pot going and stretched, yawning widely. Clint wandered in a couple minutes later, eyes puffy from lack of sleep. Bruce smiled lightly when Clint brushed a hand across his back as he walked by. He was eternally grateful for Clint's patience in this, whatever this relationship was turning out to be.

"Hey Freckles, you noticed that Iron Butt and Cap have been making eyes at each other lately?" Clint asked, stealing Mikey's coffee mug from her. She stuck her tongue out at him in retaliation.

"I've noticed the two of them seem to be spending a lot of time with each other." Bruce admitted.

"What about you, Bean? What do you think of Steve and Tony?" Clint asked, startling Mikey into almost dropping her coffee. She recovered, adjusting her glasses.

_They seem good together. _She signed after a moment's reflection.

"Now, how long until the two of them realize it?" Clint asked with a grin. "Steve's a great tactician, but he doesn't always see what's in front of his face."

"And Tony's just totally oblivious." Bruce muttered. "So it's likely they'll never figure it out, and no we are not trying to set them up." He added sternly, seeing a wicked grin cross Clint's face.

Slowly the rest of the household trickled in, including, surprisingly, Loki. Bruce watched Loki, watched him interact with Mikey. Mikey put together Loki's smoothie for him while he signed what he wanted in it. Mikey seemed genuinely happy to have Loki there and even Loki seemed pleased, if a little uncomfortable.

"Team." Steve called, cutting through the hubbub of breakfast. "Grab something quick and sit down, there's something we need to discuss."

"What's this about?" Tony asked as they all sat.

"We'll wait till Fury gets here." Steve replied firmly. "You two can stick around if you want." Steve told Mikey and Loki, who were about to quietly sneak away. Mikey bit her lip, but she wandered over to the table, sitting down next to Natasha. Loki hovered, looking torn.

"If you're going to stay, move the hell out of my way, fucker." Fury drawled, making Loki jump. The Trickster hurriedly moved out of the Director's way and settled for standing behind Mikey's chair, blatantly ignoring Thor's attempts to catch his eye.

"What's this about, Captain?" Fury demanded with measured patience.

"Tony and I were talking a few nights ago about homophobia, and I took it upon myself to do some research of my own." Steve began. "What I found horrified me."

"Forgive me Steve, but what is this homophobia of which you speak?" Thor interrupted.

"It's hate for people who fall in love with people who are the same gender as them." Tony answered. "They have that on Asgard?"

"Not the hate, not that I know of, anyhow, but same gender partnerships are hardly uncommon, right brother?" Loki narrowed his eyes, but nodded his head. Tony sighed, looking visibly relieved.

"Anyways, I think we should do something about this." Steve continued. "People look up to us, people respect us, we should be using this to help more people."

"You think people will pay more attention if it comes from us." Natasha guessed. Steve nodded his head. "It's a sound theory, but there will be backlash."

"I think it's a good idea, but I think we shouldn't just be doing this for homophobia." Bruce admitted. He noticed Loki shift, eyes thoughtful. "You have an idea, Loki?" Loki looked up at him, surprised and wary. By now everyone was looking at either Loki or Bruce, the former becoming increasingly uncomfortable, green eyes darting around, looking for an escape. Mikey put a hand on his arm and he visibly calmed, then picked up the whiteboard he carried with him always.

**Violence against women. **He wrote. Bruce blinked in surprise and Mikey looked positively gobsmacked.

"That's…that's actually a good idea." Clint admitted, unable to keep the astonishment from his voice.

"There's a Slutwalk in a couple of weeks, we could get involved with that." Natasha suggested.

"Why exactly am I here?" Fury interrupted, his patience slipping. "As interesting as this conversation is, I do not see how it pertains to me."

"We wanted to make sure this was going to be okay, all this publicity." Steve told him.

"The hell do I care? You're the ones who will have to deal with the fucking haters." Fury growled. "If that is all, some of us have actual work to do."

"Thank you Director." Steve said. Fury just grumbled and walked out of the room. "I think we should brainstorm ideas before coming up with any decisions." Steve suggested, getting up. "Thank you for your suggestion Loki." Loki looked startled and then vaguely pleased. Bruce saw Mikey give Loki's arm a pat before following Natasha to the elevator. Bruce stepped up to Loki before he could hide away again.

"Thank you." He told the shocked Trickster. "What you recommended means a lot to me and Mikey." Loki snorted and looked away. "You know, you're actually a pretty decent guy, how'd you get mixed up in all this mess?"

Loki looked stricken for a moment and then shook his head and walked around Bruce. Bruce shrugged impassively and then headed down to his lab, cataloguing the encounter in his mind for further analysis later.

%&%&%&%&%&

Loki stood on the balcony, staring down at the darkened city. Although darkened wasn't the right word, not with all the artificial lights turning night into day. A chilly fall breeze ruffled his hair, but he hardly felt the chill. He knew now his unusual resilience to cold was a product of his Jotun parentage. He forced his mind away from that though, it only made him feel more bitter.

"Ever think of jumping?" He had heard Barton behind him, but he only turned to look at him impassively. "Sometimes I think of leaping off, just to see if I could fly away. Pretty stupid thought."

Barton leaned against the railing and gave Loki a hard look. "Did you know that I was completely aware of what was going on while you were controlling me?" The agent growled. "I don't sleep at night because of it. Why? Why the hell did you do it? Those damned Chitauri just wanted to destroy everything, you wanted to rule us, what the hell was going through your head?" Loki flinched; Agent Barton was yelling by this point.

"God, why am I even asking, you can't talk." Barton groused disgustedly. "Pain in the ass." Loki glared at him and gestured at his lips. "Yeah, yeah, it's a bigger pain in the ass for you, I get it. Jesus that shit is gruesome. Is this kind of thing normal in Asgard or what?" Loki nodded his head. "Fuck."

Loki sighed and looked away again, feeling tired and empty. There was silence for a couple minutes as both men stared off into the distance. "You can't be a total asshole, I mean you would have scared off Mikey by now if that was the case. I can't get a good read on you and that is extremely frustrating."

Loki rolled his eyes and shook his head. Really, what did Agent Barton want from him? He felt bad about what he'd put the agent though, but honestly he hadn't been in a complete control of the whole situation either. If he'd failed he would have suffered greatly for it. He had failed in fact, and only being whisked away had saved him from the Other's wrath. His skin crawled at the thought that he might still be found. He wasn't about to tell Barton he had been operating as much on fear as a desire for power; not that he could even if he wanted to.

Finally Barton sighed. "I don't know what to think about you." He admitted. "You look like a dog that expects to be kicked half the time and that makes me wonder. Whatever though. I think we're watching Beauty and the Beast tonight, if you're thinking of sneaking in." He then left, allowing Loki to ponder on the odd conversation.

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Star: Review plz!


	11. Chapter 11

Star: I own nothing!

Tony leaned over the workbench, trying to breathe normally, but losing the battle. He clutched at the arc reactor in his chest, almost able to feel the shrapnel trying its best to make its way to his heart. Water filled his lungs, his lack of sleep blurring the line between reality and the memories of water torture that still haunted him.

"Tony?" The voice came to him from what seemed like far away. A hand touched his shoulder and he jerked away, hitting out wildly. He realized it was Steve a second before his fist hit the wall that was Steve's stomach.

"Ow, shit!" Tony gasped out.

"Tony, you okay?" Steve asked, his face scrunched up with worry. Tony swallowed, still feeling water in his lungs.

"Yes… no… maybe….?"

"How long have you been awake?"

"I don't know…"

"**Thirty seven hours, Captain Rogers." **JARVIS supplied helpfully. Tony groaned and lowered his head, banging it against the workbench.

"You need to sleep." Steve said quietly, placing his hands on Tony's shoulders.

"Can't sleep, can't go to sleep, there's only the water and the pain and the metal worming its way to my heart." Tony muttered. He lifted pleading eyes to Steve. "I drown when I sleep, do you know what that's like?"

"Yes." Steve admitted quietly. Tony sat up straight, seeing pain flicker across Steve's face. "When I sleep the water closes over my head and the ice creeps up my spine and I try to get to the surface but there's ice in the way and I pound at the ice and I can't get through. Sometimes I'm above the ice though and it's someone else pounding on the ice below me, who I can't get at. It's always one of you, always."

"I dream about Rhodey, about him unable to stop trying to kill me in War Machine and in the end I have to kill him to stop him. I dream of bombs falling on those I care about, bombs that have my name on them."

"Tony, why don't you come talk to someone about this?" Steve asked softly, his voice gentle and almost heartbroken sounding. It made Tony's insides twist unpleasantly.

"What a shrink? I don't need one of those-"

"No, one of us Tony. We understand. I dream about ice, Barton dreams about being controlled and made to kill, Bruce dreams about losing control and hurting everyone. We know, we understand. Talk to us Tony, don't shut us out. We need you."

"You need me?" Tony asked disbelievingly.

"We need you. We need your smarts, your get it done attitude, even if I sometimes hate it, we need that mouth that keeps us from completely panicking on some missions." Steve paused and then licked his lips. "I need you, I need these moments down in this workshop when it's you working and me drawing and that somehow it makes it alright. You're not alone Tony, please."

"Steve…" Tony sighed tiredly and slid off his stool, coming to stand in front of the super-soldier. He couldn't find the words to say so he settled for something else. "You want to see what the rest of the insomnia club is watching tonight?" He asked. Steve's face relaxed into a relieved smile.

"Yeah, I think it's Home Alone tonight." He informed Tony.

"Little early for Christmas, but okay." Tony let Steve steer him to the elevator.

%&%&%&%&%

Loki stepped into the elevator, looking at the array of buttons, not quite sure where he wanted to go.

"**Can I be of assistance, sir?" **The disembodied voice made Loki jump and press himself against the wall. He'd heard the computer named JARVIS speak to the others, but never to him. **"I have cameras sir, if you use your board I can understand it." **

**Where is Mikey? **Loki wrote quickly.

"**Ah, I see. They are down in the training room, floor 17." **Loki nodded his head and pressed the button labelled seventeen. The elevator descending made his stomach lurch a little bit. He hadn't been in it since he'd first gotten to the Tower and at that point he was in enough pain that he hadn't really been paying attention to the ride. He was fascinated now by the sensation of descending.

When he came out of the elevator he got to see Agent Romanoff go flying a short distance from Mikey. She landed on her feet gracefully as a cat, the action letting Loki know she'd allowed herself to be thrown. She looked up and noticed him.

"Well, your arrival is fortuitous." The agent stated, stretching languidly. Loki gave her a puzzled frown. "I've been meaning to ask one of the men of this house to help me in her self defense lessons. You need to learn to be able to fight men, and someone you trust is a good place to start." She added, seeing the worried look on Mikey's face. "Since Mikey trusts you for some odd reason, perhaps you would agree to be thrown around and beaten to help her."

Loki's snorted at her crass wording, but it had made Mikey giggle, which was an entertaining thing to see as it was completely silent and her nose wrinkled up in an amusing manner. Agent Romanoff watched his face, unblinking. She moved over to him and spoke quietly

"You suggested speaking out against violence towards women so you obviously care what happens to her. If we can get her confident in her ability to defend herself from attack it will help her stop being so afraid of the world. I think you want that, and I think it would help stamp out some of the red in your ledger," She smiled grimly when he stared at her incredulously. "If you helped someone without expecting anything in return."

Loki searched her face, trying to gauge her true intentions. She allowed him to see her, see that her only motive was helping Mikey. He sighed through his nose and then nodded his head. "Okay, come out onto the training mats then."

Loki walked over to Mikey, who looked up at him with panic in her eyes. He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. She tried for a smile in return, but her hands were shaking just slightly. _Relax. _Loki signed. He was happy that he'd gotten a lot better at signing, though he still was slow and fumbling with it.

"You know he won't hurt you, and you won't hurt him." Agent Romanoff informed Mikey. "I know this is a bit scary for you, but you're never going to be able to defend yourself if you can't learn to throw a man as easily as you throw me."

Mikey nodded her head in understanding, though she was still understandably nervous. "Okay, Loki I want you to go for a grab, it can be anything, arm, shoulder, head, and Mikey, just like you do with me, alright?"

Loki soon found himself with bruises from kicks and punches thrown by Mikey each time he went for a grab. At some point she'd bent his fingers back painfully but harmlessly and there were a couple points where he'd had to get his breath back after being hit in the solar plexus. It wasn't until he attempted a grapple that he suddenly found the world turning upside down and he landed on his back with a thump and the air leaving his lungs in a whoosh.

When the world stopped spinning he looked up to find Mikey standing over him, hands over his mouth and green-hazel eyes wide and worried. He coughed, feeling the pull of the stitches in his lip and sat up, still wheezing for breath. Agent Romanoff was laughing quietly.

"That was very good, Mikey, very impressive. You didn't even hesitate when you felt him try to restrain you, that's very promising." Mikey gave her a weak grin and helped Loki to his feet. Loki waved a hand at Agent Romanoff, leaning over to put his hands on his knees. He was done for the day. "Can I count on you to help me out again?" Agent Romanoff asked.

Loki understood her wording. She was asking if she could put faith in him, and if he wanted to be a part of whatever this crazy household was. Loki wondered if the others would be so happy if they knew the Black Widow was essentially welcoming him into the team, then decided that after all the late nights, everyone had kind of gotten used to him being there. It would be too much of a leap to actually make him an official part of all the insanity.

He finally slowly nodded his head, wondering if he'd just made the worst decision of his life, or the best. Agent Romanoff smiled at him for the first time and walked off, nodding her head in approval. Mikey watched her go, confusion on her face. It was clear she knew something important had just happened, but she had no idea what.

Loki put a tentative hand on her shoulder, knowing that she could and would throw him again if he startled her. She stretched her neck in order to be able to look at him and for that reason he finally saw the twisted scar that ran the full width of her throat. Before he could think to stop himself he reached out to touch light fingertips to the raised skin.

Mikey jerked away from the touch, covering the scar with one of her hands. She kept her eyes down, once more looking ashamed of herself. Loki moved closer to her and grasped one of her hands, bringing it up to the stitches on his lips, letting her run her fingertips over them. He silently tried to convey that she had nothing to be ashamed about, that he was the one who was shamed, not her.

She touched them for a couple moments and then retracted her hand. She looked lost and he thought he probably looked pretty much the same. She looked up at him again and her mouth quirked upwards slightly at one corner, as though saying, get a look at the pair of us broken people. JARVIS' voice broke the silence, making them both jump.

"**Miss Mikey, Mr. Stark would like me to remind you that you are on dinner duty tonight." **Mikey sighed silently and nodded her head. She smiled once more at Loki and headed for the elevator. Loki was left shaking his head, wondering what in the nine realms had just happened.

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	12. Chapter 12

Star: I own nothing!

"Moving a little carefully there Reindeer Games." Tony commented as Loki crept in to take his place in the armchair by the television. "Don't you know you're supposed to set a safety word?"

The Trickster gave him a flat look and signed _Mikey training_**. **

"Oh, so you were getting beaten up by Bean?" Tony guessed. Loki nodded his head. "I'll bet Natasha had way too much fun watching that." Loki shrugged his shoulders. "Well, Clint's making some food, do you want a milkshake or a smoothie or something?"

_Milkshake. _Loki agreed, looking mildly surprised by Tony's question.

"Hey Hawkass, can you make a milkshake too, chocolate?" Tony looked at Loki. "Chocolate is the kind you like, right?" Loki nodded, looking even more surprised. "What, I'm not totally oblivious to the world around me." Tony claimed defensively.

"Yes you are, Iron Butt." Clint retorted from the kitchen.

"He's what?" Steve asked, wandering into the area in a pair of boxers and a form-fitting soft t-shirt. Tony tried his best to look away; it had to be a crime to look that good when sleep-deprived. Steve saw him staring and a faint flush crept up his neck. Tony looked away and patted the spot next to him on the couch in invitation.

"Oblivious." Clint muttered, coming to sit as well with a big bowl of popcorn, three cans of Coke and a tall glass of milkshake. "Pass this to Loki, will you?" Tony took the milkshake and stretched his arm out to Loki. Loki took the glass with a nod of thanks, both at Tony and Clint.

"You know of anything going on today that involves a guy in a white mask and the words 'remember remember the fifth of November'? I keep seeing it on the internet." Steve asked.

"Is it November fifth?" Tony asked in confusion. Steve looked at him and nodded. Tony met Clint's eyes over Steve's shoulder, seeing them as wide and excited as his. The two of them bolted upwards at the same time and collided as they got to the shelves holding all their movies.

"Got it!" Clint called, holding aloft the movie triumphantly. Tony sat back down as Clint put the movie on.

"What are we watching?" Steve asked, confused by the whole display.

"V for Vendetta, that's all you need to know right now." Tony replied. "This movie is kickass!" He leaned his head against Steve's ridiculously muscled arm, completely missing the look exchanged between Loki and Clint in favour of watching the movie. He barely noticed later when Steve's arm settled around his shoulders, but he shifted just enough to be comfortable in the embrace, wondering if Steve knew what he was doing and what it was doing to Tony.

%&%&%&%

Loki watched the Captain and Stark horsing around at the kitchen counter. Stark had the plate that the Captain had been using and was playing keep away with it. Captain Rogers was bigger and stronger than Stark, but he didn't seem to be making too much of an effort to get the plate back. It was a familiar dance to Loki, and one he wasn't sure either of them realized they were doing.

"We should just shove them in a closet together and not let them out until they've fucked each other." He heard Agent Barton mutter as he walked past, making a beeline for the coffee pot.

_They could just wind up killing each other that way. _Loki replied without thinking. Agent Barton wasn't outright hostile to him, but they were by no means on friendly terms. Agent Barton stared at him for a moment hard and then cracked a slight smile.

"I think I can live with that possibility." He stated. Loki smiled slightly at the quip. "Gotta say I never thought I'd get used to having you around." Agent Barton commented before wandering over to the breakfast table.

"Hey, Rock of Ages, good morning." Stark greeted Loki with a grin. "You know I didn't get to ask what you thought of the movie last night." Loki gave him a look. "Come on, I need to practice interpreting sign language anyways."

_It was well done, gives much to think about. _Loki signed after a moment of reflection.

"Yeah, it's a literary dream. I think high schools should play it in class so that kids have something interesting to watch to be able to learn about themes and literary devices and imagery and all that, because half the books you have to read are boring as hell."

"Tony just because he can't tell you to shut up doesn't mean you should talk his ear off." Captain Rogers sighed patiently.

"He doesn't mind, you don't mind, do you?" Loki shrugged his shoulders; quite frankly Stark was interesting. "See, he appreciates my wit and intelligence." Loki and Barton snorted at the same time and then eyed each other warily. Stark laughed at the two of them. "No killing each other over breakfast, wait until lunch for that." He quipped. Loki rolled his eyes at Stark, shaking his head.

"No killing each other at all." Captain Rogers said disapprovingly, finally managing to take his plate back.

"Aw, come on Cap, it's just a joke, I'm only joking." Stark whined. From Loki's vantage point he could see the faint twinkle in Captain Rogers' eyes. The man was teasing Stark and Stark didn't realize it. He snorted on laughter and shook his head again. They were all a strange bunch.

"What are we doing for Veteran's day?" Agent Barton suddenly asked.

"Oh geez, that's coming up, isn't it?" Stark sighed.

"What is this 'Veteran's day'?" Thor asked, coming in the room.

"It's a day of remembrance, for those lost in war and those still fighting in war." Barton explained. "I think we should think about joining the ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier."

"You think they'll allow that?" Captain Rogers asked.

"You're Captain America, hell they might even let you do the bloody speech!" Stark declared. "We could even think about being around for the President's address."

"You know, I think I do like that option better." Barton admitted. "Fury could pull some strings, but President Obama would probably leap for joy if Steve asked to be there. Our intelligence says he's something of a fan."

Loki was completely lost in all this, and judging by the look on Thor's face, so was he. Stark seemed to notice their confusion and took pity on them both. "You both know how to deal with the internet, ask JARVIS to give you the best info on Veteran's day, the world wars, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan and Korea. Those are the big ones anyways." He scratched his head. "While we're at it, does anyone know if we have Band of Brothers?"

"I think Mikey has the series." Banner said, coming into the kitchen. Loki watched Barton steal a quick kiss from the scientist, prompting a smile from Banner. "You have the Band of Brothers series, don't you Mikey?" He asked when Mikey showed up, yawning and rubbing at her eyes. Mikey blinked and then nodded her head. "Veteran's day is coming up…" Mikey nodded her head again as understanding dawned.

_We can start watching today, make it easier to get through all the episodes. _She suggested. _But what about Steve? Think it will give him flashbacks?_

"If it becomes a problem, I'll let you know." Captain Rogers replied to her kindly. Mikey coloured slightly, not having realized how good everyone else had gotten with their sign language. Loki was reluctantly impressed with Thor's command of the language.

He quietly slipped away from the chatter to begin his research on Veteran's day. At first he was merely interested; humans certainly had some inventive ways to kill each other, and then as he delved deeper, he became horrified. He didn't know he had been there for so long until a hand touched his shoulder and he looked up into Mikey's worried eyes.

_Did this really happen? _He asked, pointing at his screen, which showed a concentration camp with dozens of emaciated men standing behind barbed wire. Mikey looked at the image and nodded soberly. _They call me the monster. _

_There's monsters in all of us. _Mikey replied. _Most of us don't listen to them. People like Steve always fight for what's right. This is why we remember, to remember why we shouldn't allow things like this to happen again. _

Loki stared at the picture again and then turned off the computer. He stood up and tried to smile at Mikey. Her face remained scrunched up with worry though, and after a moment she stepped forward and hugged him around the waist. It would have been comical, seeing as she was small enough that her face was buried just above his navel, but the fact that she trusted him enough to do this took his breath away.

_Life isn't all horrible. _She signed to him, pulling away.

_Thank you._ Loki signed back. She patted his arm somewhat awkwardly and walked out of the room. Loki sat on the edge of his bed, wondering at the unfamiliar sense of contentment that settled warmly in his stomach. It had been centuries since he'd felt like he belonged like this, ever since he was a small child. The feeling was as frightening as it was elating.

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	13. Chapter 13

Star: I own nothing!

It's November ninth and Steve is still trying to come up with a speech. Clint was right, the president had been over the moon that the Avengers wanted to come to his speech on Veteran's day, and had offered to let Steve give a speech as well. Steve still wasn't sure what he was going to say though, what could he say anyways? Sure he'd been in war, but war had changed, hadn't it?

"Hey, Steve, you still scribbling?" Tony asked, finally looking up from the conversation about quantum mechanics with Bruce.

"I just can't get it right." Steve sighed, putting down his pencil. "War's changed since I was fighting, how do I say something that will still make sense."

"War hasn't changed that much." Bruce answered. "Sure we have different weapons, but the outcome is the same. People dying, people getting hurt, people living the rest of their lives with the scars of war. I think if you talk about the people you lost, how much they meant, and how they died fighting for what they believe, fighting for the freedom of all and that their sacrifice should never be forgotten, people will listen to that, trust me."

"Thanks Bruce." Steve said quietly. "You know it's not easy to think about, even now…. I still can hear the screams sometimes."

"Hey, we all have that, we all have our demons, you said so yourself." Tony told him. "Maybe that's why we haven't fucked up yet with this team, because we're already fucked up in our heads and we just…" He waved his hands in the air, at a loss for words. Steve chuckled at the sight.

"We find comfort in each other, because we know everyone else understands, and they're not going to say we're crazy or we need to see a shrink, or ought to be locked up." Bruce supplied for Tony. "We fit together because we're different, but at the end of the day we can rely on each other to be there when we can't sleep and just watch a movie, bake a little or play around with some new tech until we feel like we can function like regular human beings again."

"That was incredibly eloquent and sappy, Brucey, but yeah." Tony nodded his head. "On another topic I predict that today's episode of Band of Brothers is going to leave everyone crying."

%&%&%&%&%

Loki settled into the lone armchair in the living room, taking the time to eye the Avengers' sitting positions. Banner and Barton sat side by side, Barton casually resting against Banner. Mikey was on Banner's other side, sandwiched in between him and Agent Romanoff. Stark, Captain Rogers and Thor were on the other couch. Stark was pressed right up against Captain Rogers, who was blushing slightly. How the two of them didn't realize what was going on was beyond Loki's comprehension.

"Alrighty, shut up and if everyone is not at least sniffling by the end of this episode I will eat my shorts." Stark declared, before pressing play. Loki settled in, the Band of Brothers was interesting to say the least, and he expected this episode to be no less interesting than the ones before. This episode was entitled 'Why We Fight'.

He didn't expect the sick lurch in his stomach towards the middle of the episode, when they found the encampment, but it was there all the same. He struggled with the tears that sprang to his eyes when Easy Company entered the concentration camp. He struggled until he looked around and found everyone else with tears running freely down their faces. He let go then, allowing himself to feel.

Everyone was deathly quiet when the episode ended, until a ragged sob shattered the respectful silence. Loki looked up and was stunned to see that it had been Captain Rogers, ever the strong soldier, who was now sobbing uncontrollably.

"Steve, Steve, what's the matter?" Stark asked, putting his hands on Captain Rogers' shoulders, then moving them to his arms, his chest, like he didn't know where to touch or how to comfort. Captain Rogers shuddered slightly.

"We liberated a camp like that." He said, voice choked with emotion.

"Steve, you should have said something if it was too painful for you." Stark practically yelped. "We agreed."

"It didn't really hit me that bad until the end, because that's when I started to really remember the smell of death and the painful joy on the faces of those in the camp." Captain Rogers choked on another sob. "They all wanted to see us, just to touch us because they couldn't believe we were real, that the whole thing was real."

"Aww, Steve." Stark wrapped his arms around Captain Rogers' middle as far as they would go. One by one the rest of the Avengers, and Mikey joined the group hug. Loki felt a painful pull on his heart. Of course he was left alone, he was always left alone. The feeling of bitterness left a bad taste in his mouth.

Then Stark looked up at him. "You too Rock of Ages, get in here." Loki froze in surprise, and then in response to the impatient hand Stark flapped at him he moved forward warily. He was pulled into the group hug by Thor, who kept him there with one large arm. Another, smaller hand pressed against his back and someone else's arm snaked around his middle. He got one arm around Captain Rogers, having no idea how he was supposed to do this.

"We are one big fucked up group, but you know what? This is Ohana, and we stick together, right?" Stark growled out. "All of us, we're family now, and we're going to be there for each other, right?"

"If you say so, Iron Butt." Barton quipped. "But this is one fucked up ohana, just saying."

"I don't think it would have worked any other way." Captain Rogers laughed, squeezing them all. "Thank you, all of you." They all pulled away, grinning or smiling slightly all of them, even Loki. Ohana, funny how he only found he belonged in a crazy group of mortals. It was funny how life turned out sometimes.

%&%&%&%&%

Tony watched Steve fiddle with the medals on the lapels of his uniform, fidgeting nervously. It seemed a crime that he looked so good in that uniform, hell, it was a crime that he seemed to look good all the time in Tony's opinion.

"Come on Cap, relax, they're going to love you." Steve gave him a nervous grin in reply as the rest of their crazy Ohana trickled in, in various semi-formal wear and each with a poppy adorning their clothes. Tony was surprised when Mikey came down, dressed like she was going out. "You coming with us, Bean?"

She bit her lip, looking terrified, but she nodded her head. "Mikey, if this makes you uncomfortable, no one's going to make you come." Steve told her gently. She shook her head, a stubborn frown working its way across her face.

_I'm coming. I'll be fine, so long as I've got all of you with me. _She signed.

"We'll be with you every step of the way." Natasha promised.

"But if we think you're getting too anxious please realize we will carry you back to the Quinjet no matter how much you protest." Clint added, making her smile.

"Yeah, we're all going." Tony turned as Loki crept down the stairs. "You're coming too, Reindeer Games, get on a coat, find a poppy, it's a family outing." Loki glared at him and gestured at his lips. "Oh right, that's a bit of a problem."

Mikey pulled a Ravenclaw scarf out of her coat pocket and walked up to Loki. Getting him to bend down she wrapped the scarf around the lower half of his face, so that his stitches were hidden. Tony grinned. "Now you don't have an excuse." Loki gave him a dirty look. "Come on, Rock of Ages, you really want to hang out here alone?" Loki rolled his eyes, but he accepted the coat Thor thrust into his hands.

They all loaded up into the Quinjet and headed off to Arlington National Cemetery. Natasha and Bruce kept Mikey from completely freaking out on the ride over, but she seemed to be holding up okay. They got there and were ushered up to the front of the large crowd that had gathered. Mikey was pale, but determined, and had a death-grip on both Bruce and Loki's hands.

The president started with his speech and then introduced Steve. Tony patted him on the back as he went up. Steve smoothed out the crumpled piece of paper and looked out on the sea of faces, a cute little lost look on his face.

"Good morning." Steve started, his voice strong and sure. "I have fought in war, as you all know, I was in the second of what we call the world wars. I can tell you what war is like; it's terrible. War is the people who lose their lives long before they should. War is entire cities bombed and decimated. War is the children without homes or parents who wander around empty-eyed and alone. War is the people who are made prisoners and then killed simply for being born wrong. Today we remember these things, the reality of war. We remember, I remember, so that those who gave their lives and those who continue to give their lives will not have done so in vain. We remember these things, as painful as they are because we must, because if we forget, they will keep happening over and over again. We remember so that someday our children can look at us and ask 'what was war'?" Steve paused for a second. "Before I go I'd like to read a poem that always struck me as a kid, even when I didn't understand it. I understand it better now."

_In Flanders fields the poppies blow  
Between the crosses, row on row,  
That mark our place; and in the sky  
The larks, still bravely singing, fly  
Scarce heard amid the guns below._

We are the Dead. Short days ago  
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,  
Loved and were loved, and now we lie  
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:  
To you from failing hands we throw  
The torch; be yours to hold it high.  
If ye break faith with us who die  
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow  
In Flanders fields.

Steve was choking on tears by the end of the poem, but he pulled himself together and threw a smart salute to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The trumpet player began to play Taps, and Steve continued to salute through the entire song. When it was done he marched back to his friends.

"You did good big guy." Tony whispered to him, squeezing his arm. Steve gave him a watery smile and squeezed his arm back. They all stood in respectful silence for the rest of the ceremony, Steve with his hand wrapped around Tony's arm.

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	14. Chapter 14

Star: I own nothing!

Loki pushed the straw through his sewn shut lips, barely noticing anymore the pull at them. He sipped his drink languidly, enjoying the peace of the early morning before everyone else got up and started making noise. It was calming, but also a bit lonely. The Tower always seemed so empty when there wasn't anyone talking or lounging about.

"Early up as always, I see." Doctor Banner commented, wandering into the kitchen area. Loki moved out of his way, eying him uneasily. He still couldn't relax his guard around the man, always worried that the green beast would come out and pummel him again.

"You don't have to tiptoe around me, you know." Doctor Banner commented. "I've got a better lid on it than most people like to think. I'm not going to break at any moment."

_I would think being thrown about would make anyone nervous. _Loki protested.

"I agree, but it's been a good two months since then and you've had no trouble with me, so may be time to move past it, hmm?" Doctor Banner turned away and began to make himself some decaf coffee. He couldn't get his heart rate elevated too much, Loki knew that much. He noticed a dark red mark on Doctor Banner's neck and reached out to touch it lightly, curious.

Doctor Banner covered the mark with an embarrassed grin. "Clint can get a little, ah, enthusiastic." He explained, blushing lightly. Loki understood and a wicked grin crossed his face. "Oh dear, that's not a comforting look at all. Well, you are still the God of Mischief I suppose." Banner…Bruce sighed.

"At least he's not the god of destroying cities anymore." Another voice commented. Both Loki and Bruce jumped and turned to glare at Coulson. The agent smiled at them. "Sorry, old habits from my time in the field."

"No harm, no foul, Phil." Bruce replied with a smile. "Like I was saying to Loki, I've got better control than most people think."

"Of course you do. I would not have attempted to sneak up on you otherwise." Coulson replied. Loki stared at the agent, wondering not for the first time how he'd managed to avoid dying. Coulson apparently felt him staring and turned to smile at him. "You're wondering how I'm alive." Loki nodded warily. "What you destroyed was a decoy. As soon as we got you on board Tasha and I realized you probably had some plan to take down the Helicarrier. When the attack began I saw it as an opportunity to get the 'squabbling children' to work together after a tragedy. Mean, but it worked."

Loki nodded his head in understanding. In another life Coulson might have made a good ruler. He knew how to make the tough decisions, but he was also fair, and likeable. Thor had once told him that a throne would suit him ill, and now, seeing the way that those in charge here, Coulson, Captain Rogers, and Fury, he had to admit that he was right.

It wasn't that he didn't have the brains to rule, nor the cleverness that was needed to negotiate politics, no he had plenty of that. What he had not understood was that a good leader does not put himself high above those he commanded and only thought of his own problems. A good leader treated his lesser with dignity and respect, and listened to their concerns. He would have made a poor ruler, in the way he'd been thinking then.

"Hey, you alright?" Bruce asked, touching his shoulder.

_Thinking about past mistakes. _Bruce smiled sadly.

"We all know what that's like." He informed Loki. "God, this really is one messed up family, isn't it?" Loki couldn't help but agree. The moment was cut short by the alarm going off.

"Looks like the paperwork is going to have to wait." Coulson commented drily. Bruce nodded and then ran outside. He jumped off the side of the building and Loki was certain he was transforming on the way down. The rest of the team used various exits to get outside, leaving him, Mikey and Coulson alone in the Tower.

Mikey went over to the television and turned it on. It was another ploy by Doom apparently, if the bots were anything to go by. They were attacking the Manhattan coastline. Mikey watched for a moment and then switched the TV to DVD player, found a movie, and stuck it in. It was Wall-e. Loki sat down with her, seeing her fidget and look out the windows every so often.

"I always love the part where he's finding all the human stuff and trying it out, like the bra." Coulson commented, sitting down. Mikey smiled slightly at him.

_The chubby people on the space ship. _She replied to him.

_What about Wall-e and Eve dancing in space? _Loki asked. He and Coulson double-teamed Mikey, keeping her distracted so that she wouldn't start having an anxiety attack. He'd never seen it happen, but he'd been informed that they were extremely stressful and sometimes fatal, so anyone who was left behind in the Tower if she'd been informed of the crisis would be making sure to keep her mind off things.

They were so absorbed in the movie that the only indication that the Avengers were done was when the elevator opened and Stark and Captain Rogers spilled out, arguing hotly with each other. Loki turned off the movie and listened to the argument.

"You were told to stay back, Tony!" Captain Rogers exclaimed. "Anything could have happened, there is a reason I give orders. You need to stop showboating all the time."

"I got the job done, didn't I?" Stark demanded. "Enough with the third degree Steve, we got them, I got them. I don't see that as showboating."

"We needed to make a plan, we would have gotten them in the end." Steve argued. Loki stared between the two of them. Did Stark really not see what was happening? Obviously he'd done something dangerous and Captain Rogers had been terrified of losing them. Those two honestly were the most oblivious people in all the realms.

"And how long would that have taken?" Stark demanded. "How much more destruction would those things have caused? By going in there I saved time and probably lives, you can't deny that."

"Tony, will you just listen to me for once? We have to act as a team-"

"Yeah, yeah, team, rah-rah, I gotta get to the lab." Stark tried to push around Captain Rogers, but the super soldier grabbed his arm. "Steve, let me go, we'll talk later, I gotta-" He stopped abruptly mid-sentence, slapping a hand over the light in his chest, _the light that had just gone out!_

Stark gasped in, sounding like he was trying to breathe through a closed throat. His face went the colour of wax paper and he collapsed to the ground, still struggling to draw in air and clawing at his chest. Captain Rogers was up and running to the elevator almost immediately. Agent Romanoff and Barton knelt by Tony, trying to keep him conscious while Thor attempted to keep Bruce calm and prevent him from Hulking out.

Loki moved forward, thinking that he might be able to stop what was happening using his magic… but then he remembered he had no magic left to him. He halted, staring at Stark's abnormally pale face and his gold-hazel eyes staring up at the ceiling, unseeing and panic-filled. He felt helpless, more so than he'd felt ever. He was useless here.

Captain Rogers practically catapulted himself out of the elevator, holding another arc reactor in his hands. Barton lifted Stark's upper body up, his limp torso resting against the agent's chest as Barton sat behind him, supporting him. Captain Rogers removed the dead arc reactor with shaking hands and placed the new one inside.

Stark let out a gasping breath and then slumped against Barton's chest, eyes closed, not breathing. The arc reactor didn't light up. Bruce Hulked out and the Hulk let out a distressed noise. Barton and Agent Romanoff just stared, frozen at Stark's motionless form. Thor dropped Mjolnir on the floor with a resounding crack and Captain Rogers let out a faint whimpering sound. Loki felt like he was falling, he couldn't catch his breath and he barely noticed when Mikey clutched his arm.

Then Stark breathed, colour returning to his face as his eyes shot open. "Oh hell." He coughed, pawing at his chest. "Anyone get the number of that truck that ran over me?"

Loki saw the relief flood Captain Rogers face an instant before the blonde cupped Stark's face in both his hands and kissed him full on the mouth. The Hulk popped back into Bruce in shock. Captain Rogers yanked away almost immediately, a bright red blush adorning his face.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry, Tony, I didn't mean-" He stuttered out. He yelped as Stark's hands grabbed him by the hair and brought his face down for another kiss, this one longer and more passionate than the first.

"Oh fina-fucking-ly!" Barton declared when the two of them parted, looking more than a little disheveled. "Seriously you two, the flirting and goo-goo eyes were starting to get annoying."

"Oh man, I thought, I never thought…" Stark… Tony stuttered out.

"Me neither." Captain Rogers… Steve admitted. "But we should get you to Medical right now, make sure there's nothing else we have to worry about."

"Aw, come on Steve…" Tony whined. The two of them started arguing again and Loki slipped away unseen; or so he thought.

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	15. Chapter 15

Star: I own nothing!

Thor had seen Loki rush out, his face paler than normal and eyes distressed. He waited until Steve managed to coax Tony into going to the medical bay and then went looking for Loki. He hesitated upon seeing Loki's closed door, knowing it was better to give his brother space, but he finally went in anyways, thinking Loki could use some help if he was having a crisis.

Loki was lying on the bed, face down, body shaking. Thor crossed the room quietly and sat down on the bed, letting out a sigh. Loki didn't look up, his shoulders giving another shake and his breath giving a strange hitch. Thor realized he was crying as best he could with his lips sewn shut. He lifted his hand and rested it gently on Loki's back.

Loki's head jerked up and he glared half-hearted at Thor, his eyes bloodshot. "Were you worried, brother?" He purposely avoided the word afraid, fearing Loki would just get angry with him. Loki sat up, avoiding his eyes.

_Useless. _Loki signed.

"Useless?" Thor asked, confused. It took a moment but he understood. "You had thought to try and use magic to help Tony, as you would have in the past, but then remembered that you no longer had your magic." Loki nodded miserably. Thor gathered him up into his arms. "No, you are not useless."

Loki pushed away from him angrily. _Don't lie. You always found my magic useless. _

"No, how could I? How many times has your magic saved me from being hurt?" Thor asked. "But I do take the blame for your feelings. I should have told you how I admire your skill with magic and how envious I was that you picked it up so easily." Loki's eyes widened for a moment and then narrowed suspiciously. "Brother you know I am a terrible liar."

_True. _Loki admitted. _I am still useless here._

"No, you are not. Come now Loki, do you think Mikey would have half the confidence she's gained if she'd not had you for a friend?" Loki gave him a look of surprise. "You are her friend, whether you realize it or not, my brother."

He watched Loki think about that for a long moment, his face closed and unreadable. "I believe, after today's events, I might venture to think that Tony is your friend as well." Loki shook his head. Thor blinked in confusion.

_Ohana. _Loki signed. Thor then understood just how being in the Tower had affected Loki. The others accepted him, all but Clint, but even he was slowly warming to Loki's presence. They spoke with Loki on equal terms, they were genuinely friendly to him and that was something Loki had not experienced really.

"Family." He said softly. "You understand now, why I do not care that you are not my brother in blood?" Loki nodded his head slightly. Thor grabbed him and held him close again. "We are family no matter what. And it is alright to be frightened for someone you consider family."

Loki relaxed against him, returning the embrace hesitantly. It had been a long time since Loki had allowed this kind of contact from him and he hugged his brother tighter, joyful at the simple gesture. "We're going to be alright here, aren't we brother?" He felt Loki nod against him. "You are far from useless here, just remember that. If you feel you must contribute more, all you have to do is ask, the others I think would be willing."

Loki nodded again, hand clutched in the fabric of Thor's shirt. He didn't seem inclined to let go. He was like a little child who'd been lost and having been found, was fearful that if he let go, he'd be lost again. So, Thor held back, for as long as Loki was going to need it.

%&%&%&%

Tony had rushed to his lab the moment medical had let him go, having had a new idea on the suit; he certainly wasn't running away from Steve, of course not, that was stupid talk. Of course he didn't think Steve had done it in the heat of the moment and was already regretting it.

He had his head inside the chest piece of the Suit when someone rapped their knuckles on the outside of it. He slipped out of it and looked up into Steve's bright blue eyes. Of course it would be the very person he was trying to hide from.

"Ah, we should… we should talk." Steve said, looking awkward and adorable. Tony's heart plummeted, crashing in the pit of his chest. Steve's eyes widened, so something must have shown in his face. "No, no, it's not bad, I just want to get a few things straight, okay?"

"Alright, alright, geez Cap, don't scare me like that, I got heart problems, remember?" Tony joked, standing up. Dummy raced over to greet Steve, looking for a pat. Steve did so absentmindedly, staring at Tony. "So ah… what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh, right." Steve blushed and Tony cursed mentally. The good Captain was too adorable for his own good. "Um, what are your intentions, exactly?"

"My intentions?"

"With me, I mean." Steve clarified.

"Do you want the really intimate details?" Tony asked, giving Steve a once-over and a lecherous grin. Steve's blush increased exponentially and he decided to take pity on him. "I want to try and date you, because you're an old-fashioned kind of guy and I respect that and I like that. I don't want to mess this up, I've messed up a lot and I think you should know that I'm shit at relationships, okay? I forget things like birthdays, anniversaries, I know how to be seductive, but I don't know how to do romantic. I'm volatile at the best of times and a downright mess the rest of the time, so do you really want to get involved with me is my question."

"I do." Steve confirmed. "You're a good man, Tony. A little screwed up, rough around the edges, but you're good, and you make it easier for me to sleep at night, knowing there's someone else who doesn't mind me being around just to have someone there. You're smart, and kind, and extremely attractive and please stop me, I'm just embarrassing myself."

"Bad news for you then that I like seeing you blush." Tony replied with a grin. Steve blushed even more. "Okay, we'll take it slow, because I really don't want to screw this up and lord knows I'm very good at that."

"Slow, slow is good." Steve agreed. "I mean I don't really know much about relationships anyways, so I guess we kind of just have to muddle our way through, right?"

"Yeah, I guess we will." Tony replied. "The press is going to have a field day with this."

"Huh?" Steve looked at him confused. "Why would this be any of the press's business?"

"They're going to find out sooner or later, they always do." Tony replied, the voice of experience. "Unless you were thinking of keeping this under wraps, hiding it…" He didn't like that idea at all. He wanted to shout from the rooftops that he was in love with Steve Rogers.

"No… the media is so invasive these days." Steve muttered. "I don't want to keep it a secret, but all those gossip magazines…"

"That's why we control when the media gets wind of it and how." Tony replied. "And this will be great from our anti-homophobia campaign, because what better way to prove that we're not anti-gay than by hooking up with each other."

"Only you would think of it that way." Steve mumbled fondly. "I suppose you're right, but how do we 'come out' as they say?"

"We'll let Pepper deal with that, she's been cleaning up my media messes for years." Tony chuckled. Steve's face scrunched up in worry.

"You think she'll be okay with all this?"

"Hell, I bet she already knows, she's good at picking these things up you know?" Tony grinned. "Trust me, she's not going to mind, other than taking bets with Natasha how long we last."

"I can't believe everybody else saw it already." Steve mumbled, looking embarrassed. "Can't believe you never put the moves on me."

"I just couldn't believe you would ever want me like that." Tony admitted. "I mean you're Captain America, all apple pie and patriotism. What would you want with Tony Stark, all playboy, volatile and crazy."

"That's not the Tony I know." Steve replied. "I know Tony Stark, genius, goofball, teammate and friend. That's the man you are and that's the man I fell in love with."

"You are a romantic sap, you know that?" Tony grinned, sauntering up to Steve. "No more talking now." He ordered, grabbing a fistful of Steve's shirt and dragging him down for a kiss.

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	16. Chapter 16

Star: I own nothing!

It turned out that Pepper really didn't need to do anything to help Steve and Tony come out to the world. The next time they held a press conference because the public was worried about how the Avengers seemed to be attracting all the crazy super-villains, they were given an opening that Tony just couldn't resist…

"So what do you have to say to the accusation that the emergence of the Avengers has brought out all these super-villains?" One reporter asked.

"Many of the villains we go up against have tech and other ideas that suggest they've been a long time in the making, far longer than the Avengers have been in business." Steve replied. "That being said I believe that the Avengers' emergence has prompted the emergence of more villains, to test us. If that assumption is correct than we should see less and less villain activity as the months march on."

"Anybody got any questions that aren't about our job as Avengers?" Tony asked, bored by the line of questioning already.

"Yes, I have a question, for Captain America." Steve nodded his head, gesturing for the reporter to go on. "What is your opinion, as a man from a more… discriminating time, of homosexuality in general?"

"Is this-" Steve waved Natasha off and put his hands on the table, brow furrowed as he thought about how he was going to put it. Tony rolled his eyes, reached over and grabbed a fistful of the Captain America suit and dragged Steve into a heated kiss. There were murmurs of anger and confusion along with a ripple of laughter and a few catcalls.

"Well, I think that sums up how Steve feels about homosexuality, what do you all think?" Tony declared, looking smug.

"What Tony is trying to say is that we are now dating." Steve sighed, giving Tony a look. "As for being from a more discriminating time, I've never allowed stereotypes to shift the way I view the world. I've always thought that if a person genuinely loves another person they should be allowed to be together."

"What do the other Avengers have to say about your relationship?" Another reporter asked.

"We're all very thankful they've stopped dancing around each other like shy high schoolers. Honestly the sexual tension was getting ridiculous." Clint quipped, earning a few chuckles.

"To keep this a little serious we are all happy that our friends are happy together." Natasha added, giving Clint a look. The reporters murmured amongst themselves. "I believe our time is up here." Natasha added, in that tone she had that said that she would have no arguments. The Avengers filed out, piling into the SHIELD vehicles waiting to take them back to the Tower.

"Well, that was fun!" Tony grinned at the others. "Surprised you didn't say anything about you and Bruce, Hawkass."

"Because Freckles doesn't need to be in the spotlight any more than he already is." Clint replied. "And getting hate from the world is a good way to get him stressed out and Hulking out more often."

"Huh, I hadn't thought about that, sorry Brucie."

"It's alright Tony. I'd probably be able to handle it, but it's probably not a good idea to try and test my limits." Bruce replied, adjusting his glasses. "We'll see how I deal with the backlash from you guys before seeing if it will be dangerous for us to come out as well."

Tony talked shop with Bruce for the rest of the ride, leaning into Steve's bulk, feeling the tension in his lover. "Relax, Steve. There's going to be a lot more people rooting for us than against us."

"How do you know that?" Steve asked sceptically.

"Because the public loves you, Steve, and if they see us being adorable together their hearts will grow three sizes."

"I understood that reference." Steve said with a smile, making Tony guffaw and lean up to kiss his cheek.

"I think we should go on a date this week, nowhere fancy, I can't stand fancy. Somewhere with good burgers." Tony rambled as they got out of the vehicle and headed up to the living quarters of the Tower. When they got out of the elevator Pepper was already there, shaking her head at Tony.

"You just couldn't wait until I had everything planned out, could you?" She sighed, rubbing at her temples. Tony could see Mikey and Loki watching the scene over the back of the couch. Loki had a smirk on his face of course.

"Come on Pep, they practically gift-wrapped that moment and dropped it in our laps. Besides, you've dealt with worse."

"That doesn't mean I want to have to deal with it." Pepper muttered.

"Look, if you can't deal, just say the world and SHIELD will…" Tony trailed off as Pepper shook her head.

"SHIELD's good, but they don't know you like I do, they don't have the public relations gift that I do, no offence, Tasha." She added.

"None taken Pepper." Natasha replied, smiling slightly at the other redhead. "We should go for drinks later and complain about the men."

"That's Fridays." Pepper retorted with a laugh.

"Yes, but I think we could use an extra day."

"I'll let you know after I've seen how much the stocks have dropped." Pepper promised. "What?" She asked as the rest of them stared at her. "You didn't know we have girl's night? Where do you think Tasha goes?"

"Her secret spider cave?" Tony asked. "Honestly she scares me too much to ask."

"It should." Natasha informed him with a disconcerting smile. He heard Loki snort, the only laugh he could produce nowadays and he glared at the god of mischief, who responded with a gesture he'd learned since he'd been living on Midgard.

"You're a brat." He informed the God of Mischief. If Loki could stick his tongue out, he'd probably be doing it. Mikey actually did stick her tongue out at Tony, giggling silently. "And you, quit encouraging him." Mikey ducked so only her eyes were visible, staring at him innocently. "He's infected her."

"I think the infection is mutual." Bruce laughed. Mikey and Loki disappeared back over the edge of the couch, watching something Tony wasn't paying attention to at that exact moment, because Steve was twisting his tie in an adorable way and giving Pepper a kicked puppy look.

"Um, Miss Potts, are you alright with the two of us… you know…?"

"Steve, you can call me Pepper." Pepper sighed patiently. "And yes, I'm fine with it. You've been good for Tony, getting him out of the habit of staying down in that workshop of his for days on end, which is something I've never been able to do. Believe me though, this isn't going to be easy for you."

"I know." Steve ran a hand through his hair. "But I think he's worth it in the end." Pepper smiled, looking slightly sad.

"Don't let him run you into the ground, okay? I got out when the stress of looking after everything was starting to feel like a lead weight around my neck. I hope you have more luck than I did." She told him. "But, enough moping, Tony, you have a board meeting set up for tomorrow to discuss your new status, you have to be there."

"Aw, Pepp…." Tony whined.

"I'll make sure he gets there." Steve promised.

"Conspiring against me." Tony muttered, pouting. "You'd better make it up to me." He informed Steve.

"I'll pay for our date."

"Nuh-uh, I'm thinking I'm going to need a cuddle after the big bad board members try to bring me down." Tony replied, stepping closer to Steve, pushing himself on his tiptoes so he could wrap his arms around Steve's neck. "And maybe a little bit of making out."

"I thought we were going to take it slow?" Steve teased.

"Hey, for me, this is slow. Normally I'd have you in my bed already." Tony grinned, letting his eyebrows bounce up and down. Steve snorted back a laugh at his ridiculous antics.

"You are a very bad man, Mr. Stark."

"Am I?" Tony smirked and kissed Steve on the lips.

"Oh for god's sake, get a room." Clint groused.

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	17. Chapter 17

Star: I own nothing!

Loki padded quietly downstairs, heading to the kitchen. Mikey was already there, reading a newspaper while having a snack. He sidled up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder. She whipped around and threw a punch at him, catching him in the arm. They blinked at each other for a moment before an embarrassed flush crept up Mikey's neck and she tried to hide in her turtleneck again.

Loki however snorted a laugh through his nose. _You've gotten fast. Try not to kill me. _She blushed even deeper, her hazel-green eyes worried. _What's wrong?_

_I'm never going to be able to get over all this anxiety. _She signed back. _I hate it, hate feeling so weak, but just the thought of going outside on my own gives me a cold sweat. _Loki grasped her chin and lifted it, looking into her eyes.

_You have been traumatized, it's going to be hard to get rid of those scars. _He told her. She looked away from him, biting her lip. He forced her to look at him again. _You are stronger than you believe you are. You looked at me with compassion on that first day, even though I frightened you. You have gone out into the real world again. You are not weak, far from it. _

_I let my fears keep me from doing things in life, how is that not weak?_

_Do you think Steve is weak for not wanting to sleep because he's afraid he'll wake up and another seventy years have passed? _Mikey shook her head. _Your fears are no less valid than his. _Mikey's mouth quirked up in a disbelieving smile. _I believe in you, your cousin believes in you, the rest of the Avengers believe in you, now you need to learn to believe in you._

_It's not that simple. _Loki gave her a slightly bitter smile.

_I know. Up until now I believed that I was doomed to be an outcast for the rest of my life. _Mikey smiled at him and took his hand.

_You don't have to worry about that anymore. None of us are going to leave you behind. _

_Right, and we aren't going to give up on helping you conquer your fears, so no more moping. _Loki tried for a stern look but it only made Mikey laugh her silent laugh. Good, he thought to himself, laughter is good. She really was quite cute when she laughed too. She looked up at him, bright-eyed and then turned serious, her hand reaching up to touch the stitches in his lips.

_Do you think they'll ever be taken out? _

_I do not know. Odin is not known for his mercy. I think it would take me doing something extraordinary to get him to remove them._ Mikey flattened her hand over the stitches, hiding them from view. She looked up at him with sad eyes. _I do not notice them so much anymore to be honest. _

"You've become very blasé about this whole thing." Natasha's voice came out of nowhere. Loki jumped and Mikey instinctively threw a punch, which unfortunately hit Loki in the stomach, not hard thankfully, but enough to make him grunt a little. "Good reflexes, Mikey."

Mikey ducked her head, face beet red. _Where have you been? _Loki asked, seeing she was in her training outfit, but didn't seem to have had broken a sweat at a recent time.

"Watching Steve pound Tony into the ground." She replied.

_Miss Romanoff, I had no idea you were a voyeur. _Natasha stared at him flatly for a moment.

"Do I even want to know how you know that word? Wait, let me guess, Stark, right?" Loki nodded his head. "He's a bad influence. I don't even want to know what he's going to do to Steve's personality now that they're dating."

_That could be interesting. _Loki admitted. Mikey shook her head, smiling.

"I think we should think about putting you into a combat position, or a spying position." Natasha said suddenly. Mikey stared at her like she'd grown another head. "You have the gift of a face that is very difficult to place in a crowd and you look as though you are completely harmless." Natasha gave her a wicked smile. "Up until the point when you throw someone twice your size."

Loki gave Mikey a speculative look. She looked terrified, but there was a part of her that looked surprised, and just a little bit pleased. Natasha was right, she was a very unassuming looking woman. It would be easy for her to make people relax their guards and she had shown quite a vicious streak in her self defense lessons, one that had prompted Natasha to teaching her more deadly techniques in the recent weeks.

_You're not just saying that are you?_ Mikey asked suspiciously.

"I'm an assassin and a spy, I have to know how to read people. I know potential when I see it." Natasha replied, completely serious. Mikey's look turned distinctly thoughtful. "It's something to consider, when you feel you are ready for the rest of the world."

Loki noticed that Natasha had said 'when' and not 'if'. It was clear that the speech was meant to bolster Mikey's confidence, but none of it had been lies, this Loki could tell. He also saw the effects that Natasha's words had on Mikey. Her back, which was normally hunched as she tried to make herself as small as possible, straightened subtly. Words had power, far greater power than any sword or hammer, which was why Loki had made words his weapons so long ago. He burned with resentment as he remembered how the others had scoffed at his magicks and lies.

"What's with the dark look?" Loki looked up to find Natasha eying him warily. Mikey looked uneasy as well. He relaxed, smiling reassuringly.

_Remembering old resentments. _

"So long as those old resentments don't make you homicidal. Try not to dwell on them, in any case." Natasha advised.

_I know. Resentment is what got me into this mess in the first place. _Loki replied, gesturing at his sewn lips.

"Fair enough." Natasha opened the fridge and pulled out an orange, peeling it using a small knife she'd pulled from somewhere in her clothes. "Clint was talking about Christmas presents." Loki shrugged his shoulders; he didn't know what Christmas was. "It's a holiday, it's about family and gifts and harmony and good will towards men."

_Sounds sickeningly sentimental. _

"It is." Natasha agreed. "But the food is good and it's an excuse to get drunk on expensive alcohol."

_That sounds a little more appealing. Though Thor drunk is rather obnoxious and loud. _

"Isn't he already?" Loki conceded that point with a nod of his head.

"Isn't who what?" Clint asked, marching into the room.

"We were talking about Thor and how he gets obnoxious and loud when he's drunk." Natasha replied.

"Loud yes, obnoxious…. He's kind of like a big dog, so more annoying than obnoxious because he's just happy not trying to be a dick." Clint replied. "So, Christmas." Natasha rolled her eyes at him.

"Honestly Clint, you are such a child."

"Come on, it's Christmas." Clint grinned at her. "What do you think, Bean, am I a child?"

_Yes. _Mikey grinned at his ridiculous pout. _But it's justified. _

"There, you see, I'm allowed to be a child about Christmas." Clint smiled triumphantly at Natasha.

"Does Bruce know he's dating a man-child?" Natasha deadpanned.

"You obviously don't know how excited Bruce is about Christmas. You know this is going to be his first Christmas in years that he hasn't been on the run and has had people to celebrate?" Clint's voice turned serious. The silence in the room turned awkward. "I mean and then there's Iron Butt, he's always had Pepper, but how much you want to bet he spent Christmas in a drunken haze or in bed with some floozy? And it's been over seventy years since Steve's last Christmas and he was in the war for a few years so he couldn't have had a proper Christmas. And then there's us…"

"You have a point." Natasha conceded. "And neither Thor nor Loki have experienced Christmas." Clint briefly glanced at Loki, mouth twitching slightly. Loki gave him a blank look in reply. "You should talk to Stark before you go on a Christmas craze though."

"Already done." Clint grinned smugly. "He and I will be going out looking for the best Christmas decorations we can find!" He bounced like a kid on a sugar high.

"If you play Christmas music on repeat in the Tower, just know that I will shoot you somewhere very painful." Natasha said, merely rolling her eyes at her partner's antics.

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	18. Chapter 18

Star: I own nothing!

He was in the cave again, the Mark I armour powering up. He tried to get Yinsen to stay, but he wouldn't and he couldn't stop the man from going. The seconds ticked by as the armour powered up. As soon as it had he raced through the caves, not even taking time to stop and deal with the armed men who were trying to stop him. Maybe this time, it wouldn't be too late.

It was always too late though, and there was Yinsen, lying on the ground, bleeding his life out on the dirty floor. Tony knelt beside him, seeing his lips moving, but unable to hear him talking. Suddenly a new voice boomed out

"Tony!" he whirled, trying to find the source, but there was nothing and suddenly the cave was disintegrating, dissolving away... "TONY!"

Tony jerked upright, gasping, sweat-soaked hair plastered to his face and neck. He was in his workshop, it had only been a dream. There was a big hand rubbing his back and someone saying something in a soothing tone. Tony put his head in his hands, trying to pull himself completely back into reality.

"…come on Tony, say something." The worried voice resolved itself into Steve's. Tony looked up and behind him, seeing Steve there, brow knotted in concern. He reached back, grabbing a fistful of Steve's shirt and dragged him down for a desperate kiss. The contact helped anchor him into the present and when he pulled away his heart rate was beginning to slow.

"Are you okay?" Steve asked. "When I came down you were asleep, but you were mumbling to yourself and you sounded upset, so I tried to wake you up." He explained. "Nightmare?"

"Sort of." Tony said, sitting up straight and rubbing his sore eyes. "More of a memory, but I'm aware it's a memory and I'm trying to change it."

Steve looked at him for a second and then grabbed a stool and sat down on it. "You want to talk about it?" He asked. Tony considered saying no, but the odds that Steve would give him that disappointed look were high and he was too tired to deal with that at the moment.

"You remember after we thought Coulson was dead and you'd asked me if I'd ever lost a soldier?" Tony started.

"Yeah, you had said that we weren't soldiers." Steve replied. Neither of them were proud of the things they'd said to each other at that point, but they were past that now.

"I did lose someone." Tony admitted in a small voice. "I never told anybody about this, just told them I got out, but… when I was caught there was another man with me. His name was Yinsen. He helped me build the first suit. We were supposed to get out together, but when it came time, he went to buy me time as the suit powered up. I tried to get to him as fast as I could but… I was too late. He told me not to waste my life, you know? I'm trying to live up to that. Most days I think I'm failing miserably."

"It makes sense now, why you were so angry at Phil for trying to take on Loki alone." Steve mused. He put a hand on Tony's shoulder, squeezing gently. "I think Yinsen would be very proud of you for all that you've accomplished." Tony huffed out a laugh. "Tony, how many times have you flown into the face of danger, into death to make sure no one else got hurt? As much as I hate it when you do that, I admire your courage, and I know that Yinsen would too."

"You are too damn sweet for your own good, come here." Tony grabbed Steve's shirt again and yanked him into a kiss. This time Steve took control, pushing into it and running his hands down Tony's arms. "Getting a little bold there, Captain?" Tony asked breathlessly when they parted.

"Well, I can't let you have all the fun." Steve replied, blushing bright red. "You should sleep, you look awful." Tony leaned into the hand that caressed his cheek. Sleep sounded good, but only his nightmares waited for him.

"I go to sleep, I'll dream, and it's never good dreams." He murmured. Steve frowned at him, lips pursed in thought as he continued to stroke Tony's cheek. Tony felt his eyelids drooping, body completely relaxing into Steve's touch.

"Why don't I stay with you?" Steve suggested. "Sometimes it helps if there's someone else there."

"You sure you don't just want to go all the way?" Tony asked, wiggling his eyebrows. It was a cheap joke, he knew that, but it was worth it to make Steve blush. "I'm kidding big guy. But, seriously, you really want to be around if I'm screaming in my sleep?"

"You're not the only one with nightmares, remember?" Tony looked at Steve, seeing the old ghosts that haunted him.

"Alright Steve, you wanna go upstairs?" Tony asked, struggling to keep his eyes open.

"Not sure you'll make it that far." Steve observed with a small smile. "The couch is fine, I've slept in worse."

"Couch, yeah, couch is good. I could think of better things to do on that couch though, maybe if I wasn't so tired." Tony rambled and didn't protest when Steve picked him up and carried him over to the couch. There was actually something quite comforting about knowing Steve was that strong. Steve laid him down and careful moved beside him, trapping Tony between the couch cushions and Steve's body. He twisted around so that his face was to Steve's chest.

Steve planted a kiss on the top of his head and then ran his fingers through Tony's hair. "You spoil me." Tony mumbled, half-asleep already. He snuggled into Steve's chest, wrapping his arms around him as far as they could go and was lulled to sleep by the sound of Steve's strong heartbeat.

%&%&%&%

Loki watched Clint and Bruce as they fought with the tangled Christmas lights. He suppressed a chuckle, quite happy to be a spectator and knowing if he made his amusement known they would try to drag him into the fray. It was sickeningly adorable every time Clint leaned in to kiss Bruce on the cheek, making the scientist blush deeply. It seemed to be a family trait, as Mikey started blushing any time she was flustered, although she was a lot cuter when it happened.

He shook that thought out of his head, but found it persisting when Mikey sat down beside him, smiling at him shyly. _They're going to wind up tangled in those lights. _She signed to him.

_Somehow I don't think Clint will mind so much. _Loki replied. _Though Bruce might wind up Hulking out. _

_The Hulk just cuddles Clint apparently now. _Mikey informed him. Loki raised an eyebrow at that. _Only after the battles though, Hulk is apparently very professional._

_Or about as professional as a giant green wrecking ball can get. _Loki countered, making her wrinkle up her nose in a silent giggle.

"Hey, we know what you're talking about over there, now come give us a hand!" Clint called. Mikey made to get up, but Loki wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back down. She gave him a wide-eyed look, a bright flush creeping up her face. Loki removed his hand quickly. It was difficult to figure out sometimes what kind of touches were alright and what would make her nervous.

_Sorry. _He signed. She looked away, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and biting at her lip. She stood up and Loki didn't stop her this time. She walked out and Loki couldn't help the feeling that he'd dropped the ball on that somehow.

"Smooth, real smooth. Well, now we know you're definitely not the God of picking up women." Clint teased. Loki gave him a flat look. "Hey, I'm good at seeing things, right? So I can see that you like her a lot, maybe more than just as a friend." Loki stared at him, confused as to how someone could go from absolutely despising someone to now calmly having a conversation with him. He signed this to Clint and the agent shrugged his shoulders. "Kinda got used to you I guess. Bit hard to hold a grudge when you look like a kicked puppy every time you think you're not going to be allowed to be included in something. Was that what it was like for you in Asgard?"

_A lot of the time, yes. I was considered something of an outcast because I preferred my magics to fighting, which was considered… unmanly. _He hesitated to say womanly, because he knew very well that women could be just as powerful fighters as men. _Many of my peers looked down on me for it, I think Thor was the only one who didn't. _

"Well, most of us know about being outcasts, one way or another. But back to Clint's original topic, do you want to pursue a relationship with Mikey?" Bruce asked, sitting down beside him.

_It's not that simple. _Loki responded.

"You mean because of her issues?" Loki nodded his head. "Every relationship has that sort of thing. I mean, with me and Clint it's making sure he doesn't do anything that could make me Hulk out, which means being careful doing certain… activities. We deal with this by knowing each other's boundaries, and by talking about what makes us uncomfortable."

Loki thought about that and then shook his head. Even if… what would Mikey want with someone like him? "Listen, Loki, you do know that you're one of the people that Mikey trusts the most, right?" Loki blinked at Bruce, surprised. "Come on, she throws you around, she's managed to get through your temper tantrums and she still considers you a friend, that means something. You don't want the chance to slip you by, do you?"

Loki shrugged his shoulders, but he had to admit Bruce had a point. He just didn't think that Mikey was even remotely ready to consider that sort of thing with anyone, let alone him.

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	19. Chapter 19

Star: I own nothing!

Thor was walking from his room to the kitchen when he realized he had a shadow. He looked behind him and Mikey smiled up at him, looking nervous and fidgety. "Do you require something, my young friend?" He asked. She fiddled with her glasses for a moment, eyes darting this way and that as a flush crept up her neck. "Mikey, you need not be nervous of me, you know this, correct?"

She nodded her head, chewing at her bottom lip. _What should I get Loki for Christmas? _She finally asked him.

"Ah, I see. And why do you ask me?"

_You're his brother; you should know him best of all of us. _

"That would be the most intuitive thought, yes." Thor agreed. "Normally I would say to gift him with a rare spellbook, or a magical bauble of some kind that he can take apart, but he has no use for that sort of thing now." She looked disappointed, so he smiled and clapped a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. "It will be well. We can go explore one of the locations the lady Pepper refers to as a 'shopping mall' for presents."

She made a face, half terror and half distaste. _Shopping malls are crowded, especially at this time of year. _

"Have no fear, for I will be by your side for this quest." Thor struck a ridiculous pose, hoping that it would make her smile. Apparently it worked because she chuckled silently and nodded her head. "Come, we will go immediately." He held out his hand to her and she took it without hesitation, her small digits almost comically swallowed in his own.

It was snowing outside and Mikey paused a moment to catch a snowflake in her palm. She smiled up at the sky and the Christmas lights adorning the buildings. _When I was little I always wanted to come to New York to see the lights at Christmas and New Year's. _

"Well, no time like the present, yes?" Thor grinned and Mikey smiled back. They made their way to the mall, which of course was crowded with people who were also trying to do their Christmas shopping. Mikey kept a tight grip on Thor's arm, fearful that she would be swept away if she let go. Thor looked around with interest, in particular at the Santa that was talking to children.

"Tell me if I have this right." He said to Mikey. "Santa Claus comes on the eve of Christmas and leaves gifts for the children, yes?" Mikey nodded. "But he is not-" He paused as Mikey put a finger to her lips.

_No, he's not real, but the kids don't know that. _

"Ah, I see. Why is it so important for children to believe in him?" He asked.

_I think it's the wonder of it, that people want to preserve. Let them believe that there's a little magic in the world before they have to face reality as a grown-up. _

"I suppose that is a good reason to allow Santa Claus to remain in the hearts of the youth." Thor agreed. "How do they explain how Santa seems to be in every mall, though?"

_My parents always said that they were Santa's helpers, who would tell him everything that the children wanted. _Mikey explained. _I think others just say that Santa is magic and can make copies of himself. I_

"And of course, the children still believing in such magic, see no problem with this." Mikey nodded her head again. "I think it is wonderful that parents still want their children to believe in such things, even in this age of technology and science."

He continued on, looking in the windows of the stores, until Mikey tugged on his arm, silently asking him to stop. He did so and looked to see what had caught her attention. She smiled up at him and pointed at something in the display. He smiled too when he saw what she was looking at.

"Yes, I think that will do quite nicely."

%&%&%&%

Loki cornered Natasha in the training room. Or rather, he attempted to sneak up on her, but was thrown for his troubles. "Assuming you're actually not stupid enough to try and attack me when you're powered down, what is it that you want, Loki?"

_I need help finding a Christmas present for Mikey. _He informed her. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"If you're coming to me for this simply because I'm a woman, please be advised I have many knives and know many places where I can stick them to cause a great amount of pain without a great amount of bloodshed."

_Do I look like an idiot? _Loki asked. _No, you are one of the closest ones to Mikey, besides me and Bruce, and Bruce is holed up in his lab for some reason. _

"I see. Well, let me get showered and changed and we can head out to the mall. Are you going to be able to conceal those stitches?"

_Yes, I still have that scarf Mikey gave me. _Loki answered. _Thank you. _

"Meet me in the kitchen in half an hour." Natasha answered. Loki nodded and went upstairs, grabbing his overcoat, a hat he'd 'borrowed' from Thor's room, and the scarf that Mikey had given to him when they'd gone for the Veteran's day speech.

In fact Loki had thought of Natasha in part because she was a woman, but he was wise enough not to let her know that. He wanted something that would show his affection for Mikey and though his silver tongue had helped him woo many a woman on Asgard, he had no idea what settled for gifts of courtship on Midgard.

"Alright, you ready to go." Natasha asked, coming in with her coat on. Loki nodded. "Better keep that scarf on, you'll wind up scaring someone without it."

Loki rolled his eyes, but nodded and wrapped the scarf around the lower half of his face. They headed downstairs and onto the streets. Loki noticed Natasha discreetly check her sleeves and just knew she had at least one knife hidden on her. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Never go unprepared, that's the first rule of SHIELD." She told him, walking along. "So, what are you going for? Gift between friends, or something with a bit of a romantic touch to it." Loki looked at her.

_Does everyone know?_

"Word gets around, we're a pretty close ohana." Natasha smirked at Loki's look. "Besides, you could hardly be more obvious."

_Apparently I've lost my subtlety along with my powers. _Loki observed wryly.

"Or maybe you've never actually been in love?" Natasha suggested. Loki thought about that for a couple minutes. He'd lusted after women before, found it amusing to seduce him, but she was correct; he'd never actually fallen in love with anyone. He nodded his head slowly at Natasha. "I'm not exactly the best person to be asking for advice on romantic gestures, I hope you know that."

_Yes, it's more I want a second opinion from someone else who knows her. I like to be sure of my plans' success. _

"Plans usually don't do much when it comes to romance." Natasha replied. "But, if you want to go with a romantic gesture, I would suggest something to do with roses." Loki raised an eyebrow at her.

_Isn't that a little cliché?_

"It is, but she loves roses, haven't you noticed?" In fact, Loki had. She loved the symbolism of the rose in V for Vendetta and Phantom of the Opera. She also loved Beauty and the Beast, which boasted a magic rose, and one of her all-time favourite characters on Doctor Who was Rose Tyler. Rose Tyler's relationship with the Doctor was also one of her favourite romances, along with River and the Doctor and Rory and Amy.

"She knows very well that roses are cliché, but she told me she can't help but love them." Natasha added. "I'd avoid getting anything to do with Doctor Who, everyone else is already doing that sort of thing. You could go Harry Potter if you want to go the safe route and just do something you know she'll like but doesn't have a grand romantic gesture behind it."

Loki shook his head. _I think I'll take my chances with romance. _Natasha paused and gave him a quick look.

"You really are head over heels for her, aren't you?"

_How could I not be? She braved her own insecurities to help me, and treated me with compassion even when all she knew of me was that I had unleashed an alien army upon New York and was silenced to pay for my crimes. How could I not love someone who strives so hard to overcome her weaknesses and still finds time to help me overcome mine?_

"Be warned, Bruce will have your head if you do anything to hurt her." Natasha informed him.

_I've no intention of rousing his wrath, thank you very much. I still have the marks from the last time I did. _

"Hm, I suppose you're right. You know that Thor's invited Jane, Darcy and Eric for Christmas, right?"

_Yes, he has informed me. _Loki replied. _I actually did not realize that was where he disappeared off to sometimes. It will likely be only Eric Selvig who will be a problem, but I will endeavour to avoid confrontation with him. It is, after all, Christmas. _

"Good will towards mankind." Natasha added sarcastically, seeing the corners of Loki's eyes crinkle in a smile. She stopped in front of a shop window and gestured Loki closer. "I think I might have found your Christmas gift."

~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*&~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Star: Wow, I'm actually going to have a Christmas scene close to Christmas, the stars have aligned my friends!


	20. Chapter 20

Star: I own nothing! Christmas time, ho!

"Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring-"

"Yeah, fuck that noise!" Clint interrupted Tony, grinning his fool head off. "I think everybody's stirring tonight. Hoping to see Santy Claus maybe?"

"What, we're not going to try and catch him?" Tony asked, eyes widening comically.

"Hate to break it to you, Iron Butt, but Kris Kringle doesn't exist." Clint replied with a grin.

"Le gasp, you mean I've been lied to all these years?" Tony said, mock-horrified. "Oh the humanity!" Bruce laughed at both their antics. Steve wandered in, face crinkled in confusion at their mock-argument.

"Steve!" Tony cried, hugging his lover tight and throwing in a grope to his behind for good measure. "It's almost Christmas!"

"I know, Tony." Steve replied patiently, his face painted with a bright blush. "Thought I'd join in the festivities I could hear down here. Do I smell cookies?"

"Yup, good old shortbread cookies with icing." Clint agreed. "They're on the table and there's more baking in the oven, so take as many as you like, Cap."

"Thanks, Clint." Steve said, untangling himself from Tony and wandering over to the couch.

"**Sir, your guests are now arriving with Thor." **

"Excellent." Tony grinned. "Now we can get this party started properly." The elevator dinged and opened up to reveal Thor, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis and Eric Selvig. "Hello and welcome to our humble abode!" Tony said with a dramatic bow, making Darcy giggle. "Come on in, we got cookies, we got alcohol and we're still trying to decide what Christmas movie to watch."

"It's the middle of the night." Jane pointed out.

"Welcome to the insomniac club." Bruce replied, walking up. "Hello, I'm Bruce Banner, I've read both Dr. Foster and Dr. Selvig's papers, wonderful stuff." Jane and Eric shook his hand. Darcy stared at him for a moment and then poked him in the side. She poked him again, looking disappointed. "I'm afraid that's not going to work." Bruce informed her patiently.

"Aw, that's no fun." She complained. "Hey, can I see your arc reactor?" She asked Tony. Without waiting for an answer she pulled his shirt off, revealing the blue light. "Cool, you should totally make it change colours and have it Christmas themed." Jane sighed patiently at her assistant's antics.

"I like her, can we keep her?" Tony asked.

"Sorry, you're going to have to find your own crazy intern, this one's taken." Jane replied, stifling a laugh. Tony and Clint started arguing about whether they were watching The Grinch Who Stole Christmas or the Santa Claus.

"Okay, you losers want to watch a good Christmas movie, go with Home Alone." Darcy interrupted, snagging a cookie and sitting down next to Steve. "Hiya, Muscles."

"Good… I can never tell if I should say evening or morning at this time." Steve admitted.

"How the hell did we forget about Home Alone? That movie's hilarious." Tony declared. "Okay, it's Home Alone then."

"Oh good, we came down just in time." Natasha stated, walking in with Mikey. "I am Agent Natasha Romanoff."

"You're not nearly as scary as Thor says." Darcy commented.

"Darcy!" Eric protested. Natasha smiled slightly.

"You haven't seen me in action yet." She replied. "And this is Mikey, she's quite shy and she can't talk."

"Yeah, Thor's been trying to teach us sign language." Jane admitted. "Sorry, love, but you're just not cut out to be a teacher."

"Fair enough." Thor replied, kissing the top of her head.

"Hold on, we're missing one person." Clint said as Tony put in the movie. "HEY LANKY! I KNOW YOU'RE AWAKE, NOW GET YOUR SKINNY ASS DOWN HERE FOR FAMILY MOVIE TIME!"

"Jesus, Hawkass, wake up the whole damned city, why don't you?" Tony complained, rubbing his ear. Loki padded down the stairs a few moments later, making a rude gesture at Clint. He sat down with Mikey in the armchair, which was big enough that the two of them could sit comfortably in it. Loki and Eric Selvig eyeballed each other for a moment, before Loki dipped his head in a silent apology. Eric nodded, but didn't say anything. A silent agreement to play nicely had gone into effect.

Somewhere in between the end of The Santa Claus, and the middle of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Mikey fell asleep, her head cushioned against Loki's shoulder. Loki held her close, possessively, one hand lightly carding through her hair.

"Holy Moses, you got it bad." Tony commented. Loki glared at him and Tony stuck his tongue out at him. "Glare all you want lover boy, I think even Daredevil could see how infatuated you are, and the dude is blind."

_At least it didn't take months for me to actually start to act on my affections. _Loki retorted.

"Ooh, low blow." Tony ducked the pillow that was chucked at his head.

"Shut up, I'm trying to watch the movie."

%&%&%&%

Loki was woken up by the sound of Tony loudly, and badly, singing a song about Santa Claus. He opened one eye and glared at the irrepressible genius. Tony noticed him and bounced over. "Morning sunshine, time to get up, it's Christmas!"

_You're annoying, go away. _Loki signed back.

"Nope, it's Christmas, and we can't open presents until everybody's around." Tony poked Mikey's nose. "Wakey wakey, Bean, Santa's come to town." Mikey wrinkled her nose, yawned, stretched and opened her eyes. Upon realizing she had been sleeping against Loki she blushed and popped out of the seat. Loki smiled at her and stood up, offering her an arm. She took it with a silent giggle, allowing him to lead her over to the absolutely enormous Christmas tree that Tony had managed to find. They sat down, and the present opening began.

It was good to get presents, and know that the people giving them actually liked you and put some thought into the gifts, but Loki's favourite part of the day was not getting presents, but the looks on the others' faces when they opened a gift, especially if it turned out to be something amazing. There were four moments of this morning that Loki was certain would stand out in the memories of this day.

The first was Natasha's gift to Mikey. Mikey's initial look when she opened the box and lifted out two delicate throwing knives was confusion. Natasha had smiled and said "For when you're ready. Every girl's got to have a few tricks up her sleeve." Mikey had smiled widely then and hugged Natasha fiercely. "I'll teach you how to use them properly too," Natasha added, returning the hug. "So you don't accidently put someone's eye out."

The second memorable moment was Tony's gift to Steve. Tony gave Steve a box first, Steve opened it, his eyes bugged out and he slammed the lid back on, looking flustered with a deep red blush across his face. He gave Tony a reproachful look, which only served to make Tony laugh and bring out another gift from behind his back. This one, when opened, was revealed to be a picture album, and not just any picture album, but one with pictures from Steve's 'past life'.

"Tony," Steve said, voice choked with emotion. "How did you get all these?"

"Looked some people up, followed some leads." Tony shrugged like it was no big deal. "Some of them are copies, because I thought the families would want to keep the originals. You know, you were quite the cutey even before the super serum."

Steve rubbed at his eyes, smiling at Tony. "Thank you, thank you so much Tony." He said, choking up and pulling Tony in for a kiss.

The third moment that was the most memorable was the gift that Mikey gave to him. He opened it up and stared in wonder at the crystal figurine. It was Stitch, sitting with a book on his lap, with ducklings sitting around him. He turned it this way and that, delighted by the artistry. The message that the figurine sent was obvious; he belonged, and he always would belong, here.

He smiled at Mikey, barely able to keep tears of joy from slipping down his cheeks. Thor gave him a rough pat on the back and a smile, knowing the significance of the heartfelt gift.

The final moment that Loki would always remember was when Mikey opened her gift from him. He sat in nervous anticipation as she unwrapped it, catching Natasha's amused look at his squirming. Mikey opened the slim box and gasped silently at the sight of what lay inside.

She lifted up the necklace, holding it up to the light. The pendant was a series of sterling silver wires in the shape of a small open-petal rose. It was simple, but beautiful, just like Mikey. He moved closer and took it from her, fastening it around her neck. She touched it lightly, still looking stunned by it. When she looked at him she smiled in a way he hadn't seen her do before. Leaning up she touched her lips to his cheek, silently thanking him for his gift and reciprocating his declaration of affection in that simple action.

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Star: Review plz!


	21. Chapter 21

Star: I own nothing!

"So what are we thinking for New Years?" Bruce asked, watching Clint and Tony try to beat each other on Mortal Kombat.

"I was thinking we could go watch the ball drop in Times Square." Tony replied. "Think you could handle the crowds?"

"Yes, I can. Like I've said before-"

"You've got a good grip on it, I know." Tony nodded his head and then cursed when Clint dropped his character's health points by half.

"You should probably be more concerned about Mikey." Bruce added. While Mikey was getting better at being comfortable in crowded places, the rowdiness and tightly packed nature of the New Year's celebration could potentially be a little much for her nerves.

"Well, all we have to do is ask, that's not so hard is it? GODDAMN IT HAWKASS!" He yelled as his character was knocked out.

"You can't take the heat, don't play the game." Clint taunted.

"Brucie, please do something about your boyfriend." Tony pleaded.

"Like what?" Bruce asked. "Besides, it's funny to watch you two go at it."

"traitor." Tony muttered, already trying to beat Clint again. Bruce just chuckled and went back to reading his scientific journal. Mikey and Loki wandered in a little while later, 'talking' animatedly. Mikey was wearing the necklace Loki had gotten her for Christmas still and had a habit of touching it every so often, as though she wasn't quite sure it was real still.

She also had taken to wearing more flattering clothes. She still wore jeans, but they weren't as bulky and actually hugged her frame. The turtlenecks were gone and she wore lighter t-shirts and long-sleeved shirts that were in bright, eye-catching colours instead of drab, dark shades. There was a bright twinkle in her eyes that he hadn't seen since the days when she was a kid and still believed that she could do anything.

He turned his attention to Loki then and gazed critically at the god of Mischief. There was a contented feeling surrounding him and his posture was relaxed rather than rigid and wary. He'd found his own style of clothes in neat slacks and button-down shirts in cooler shades of colour. He smiled more, and the smile touched his eyes, brightening them.

They were definitely good for each other, he thought decisively. "Hey Mikey." He called, interrupting whatever they were talking about. "How do you feel about going to Times Square to watch the ball drop on New Year's?"

She chewed at her lip, looking thoughtful and pensive. Loki put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently, reassuringly. She looked up at him, smiling slightly. _We'll all be there with you, isn't that right?_ Loki looked up at Bruce, raising his eyebrows.

"If we're going to Times Square, it's going to be a family affair." Bruce replied. "We'll all be there." He assured her. "It's not set in stone yet, we still have to talk it over with the rest of the group, of course."

_Of course. _Loki signed back. He squeezed Mikey's shoulder again and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Bruce smiled at the two of them and shook his head; fate had a funny way of solving problems sometimes.

%&%&%&%&%

Loki swerved to avoid another drunken mortal careening into his path. He pulled the scarf further up his face, making certain his stitches were healed. It was a new one, a Slytherin scarf given to him by Natasha, who commented that he was as big a snake as she'd ever seen. Since she felt as though she had her place in Slytherin, Loki took it as a compliment.

Tony and Clint were singing along to whatever song was blaring in Times Square. He had to admit the party atmosphere was infectious, even Natasha was bobbing her head along to the beat. Mikey was grinning widely, though she kept a tight hold on Loki's hand. The bright lights of the various displays shone on her face, lighting up her brilliant smile.

He stared at her more than he stared at the festivities going on. She looked at him and caught him staring. She smiled, looking bemused. The countdown began for the last minute until the new year. Now or never, Loki thought to himself.

_I love you._ He signed. She blinked, looking surprised and then stared into his eyes, as though trying to figure out if he was lying or not. He stared back, allowing the emotions he was feeling to show as he rarely allowed. She then smiled and pulled him close to her as the countdown went on.

10…

9…

She pulled the scarf down and gently touched the stitches keeping his mouth closed, her eyes soft.

8…

7…

His arms snaked around her waist as her hands cupped his face.

6…

5…

4…

They leaned into each other, Loki feeling as though time slowed.

3…

2…

1…

HAPPY NEW- BANG!

Loki and Mikey jerked apart as the one of the Jumbo screens exploded and people started screaming and running. "Doombots!" Steve yelled. "Avengers, we got work to do!" He called.

"Loki!" Bruce yelled over the screams. "Get Mikey back to the Tower, I'm counting on you to keep her safe!"

Loki nodded his head and grabbed Mikey's hand, weaving through the panicking crowd, heading for the less crowded streets. Doombots zoomed overhead, shooting at anything that moved. He took her into the darkly lit alleyways, trying to keep to the shadows. The two of them stopped for a moment to catch their breath and hide from a roving robot.

Mikey suddenly tapped his arm and pointed. Hidden by a trash bin were a trio of young African-American kids, the oldest looking to be about thirteen. He was holding his arm funny and all three looked absolutely terrified. The two of them quickly ran over to the kids, hiding behind the bin with them.

The youngest was a little girl who looked no bigger than seven years old and the middle was another little boy who looked about ten. The eldest looked at them, fear and pain in his wide brown eyes. "We just wanted to see the fireworks." He whispered. "We wasn't supposed to be here. I'm supposed to be in charge." He explained, voice shaking.

Loki took the moment to have a look at his arm, the boy winced. _Broken. _He signed. Mikey nodded her head. Loki unwound his scarf from around his neck and used it to create a sling for the child's arm. Of course that meant that the stitches in his lips were made visible.

"Man, what did you do, get on the wrong side of a gang or something?" The eldest boy asked. Loki shook his head.

"Does it hurt, mister?" The little girl asked. Loki shook his head, smiling at her. Mikey got their attention and gestured to the Avenger's Tower, trying to make it clear that they were headed there and they wanted the kids to come.

"You work with the Avengers?" The ten-year old asked, looking awed. Mikey nodded frantically.

"We gotta go, those robots will find us if we stay here." The oldest boy said. Loki nodded and scooped up the little girl. The five of them began to run, hiding occasionally from the odd Doombot that had escaped. It was all going well until they wound up hiding behind another trash bin, with two Doombots coming towards them.

The robots would find them if he didn't do something. _Get the children to the Tower. _He told Mikey, making up his mind. She stared at him and then understanding dawned. She shook her head, terror etched across her face. Loki caught her hands and forced her to look at him._ You can do this, you are strong enough. I will lead them away and give the rest of you a chance. I believe in you Mikey. _

She slowly nodded and he let go, running out of his hiding place and catching the attention of the bots. He didn't look back, confident that Mikey would do as he asked her. He ran through the alleys, chased by the bots. He was starting to get short on breath, unable to breathe through his mouth.

He was suddenly hit from behind and crashed into a wall, feeling blood beginning to pool in his mouth from when he'd tried to scream in pain. The Doombot that had been chasing him floated over, levelling its weapon at him… and then the Hulk slammed into it from above.

Loki didn't know whether to be relieved or more frightened. The massive green beast looked at him and growled, making his blood run cold. "Puny god hurt." The massive creature stated, reaching out for Loki. The Hulk gripped Loki in surprisingly gentle hands and ran off with him securely held in his arms.

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Star: Review plz!


	22. Chapter 22

Star: I own nothing!

"-And then the guy just ran off, letting the bots chase after him." Thor listened to the young, dark-skinned boy finish his tale while the SHIELD medics patched up his broken arm. He cast his eyes upwards again, searching the streets for his absent brother. Besides him on the Tower's front steps Mikey sat, hands shaking so badly she could barely grip the mug of calming tea held in them. It had been fifteen minutes since she'd led her bedraggled band of children to the Tower, without Loki.

"Brother, where are you?" Thor murmured, becoming more and more concerned by the minute. Loki had no power, he was essentially mortal, if those bots had gotten to him… He shook that thought out of his head, Loki was clever, he would be able to get out of any mess he found himself in.

The Hulk came running up to the Tower and Thor's heart lifted at the sight of Loki cradled in his arms. "Hey, that's him! That's the guy who saved us!" The boy broke away from the medics and walked up to the Hulk, who huffed, but allowed the child to get close. "Thanks for your scarf mister, hope you get your mouth fixed up." He handed Loki back his scarf.

Loki smiled slightly, taking the scarf, though he slumped in the Hulk's hold. "Puny god hurt." The Hulk growled at the medics. The medics looked at each other, and then the Hulk and took Loki off his hands, bringing him inside to the medical bay. Thor followed with Mikey, holding the small mortal's shaking hand.

%&%&%&%&%

Loki came awake to someone gently shaking his shoulder. "Brother?" Thor's voice asked. He struggled to open his eyes, his head feeling like it was full of fluff. He finally cracked his eyes open slightly and winced at the bright light. "Brother, I'm sorry, but you need to wake up."

He opened his eyes more and looked up into his brother's worried eyes. _Where am I?_ He asked.

"You're in medical, the bot injured you some, not bad, but they felt it was best to let you rest." Thor answered. "Brother, um…"

"The AllFather demands your presence." Loki turned his head and stared in surprise at Lady Sif, who looked back at him with barely mask distaste. Loki sat up and frowned when he saw that the Warriors Three were also there. He blinked again, letting his mind clear and then realized that Mikey was quietly sitting beside his bed, looking like she was trying to disappear again.

He shifted his full attention to her and took her hands. _I thought you might have died. _Mikey signed, tears pooling in her eyes.

_No, not yet._ Loki replied, cupping her face in his hands.

"The AllFather is waiting." Sif interrupted. Loki glared at her.

_Mikey comes with me._ He told his brother. Thor looked a little troubled.

"I do not think Father will…" he trailed off at Loki's glare. "Ah yes, you have never cared what Father would like." Thor smiled. "Do you need help getting up?" Loki shook his head and swung his legs over the bed, standing up with twinges of pain. He took Mikey's hand and stood up with her.

_What are you doing? Why am I coming? _

_Because you give me strength. _Loki answered. Mikey blinked and then blushed, fiddling with her glasses before nodding her head shyly. Loki offered her his arm and she took it with a smile.

"I don't think the mortal should be coming." Fandral said doubtfully.

_She comes or I do not. _Thor translated what Loki had said to his friends.

"As quarrelsome as ever." Volstagg sighed, though he smiled a little fondly.

"We shall go to the roof." Hogun said. All of them piled into the elevator, making it far too crowded for Loki's liking and he practically ran out of it when they got to the penthouse. The rest of the Avengers were waiting there, with varying degrees of concern on their faces.

"So, what's the deal-io?" Tony asked cheerfully.

"The AllFather wishes to see Loki." Thor answered.

"Excellent, let's go." Tony grinned. "Family outing, since our last one was interrupted."

"We were only told to get Loki." Fandral protested. "There is no need for all of you mortals to come."

"You're taking part of our family. We aim to be sure we get all of that family back." Clint said in a stony voice. Loki looked at him in some surprise and Clint shrugged his shoulders.

"We're coming and that's that. Odin can suck it." Tony smirked.

"Very well." Sif rolled her eyes. "But we must go." They all went out onto the balcony and then the light of the Brifrost erupted around them and transported them to Asgard.

"Wow, beam me up Scotty." Tony quipped when they had arrived. The Avengers snickered, though Sif and the Warriors Three just looked blankly at them. Loki nodded at Heimdall as he went past, and the stoic Gatekeeper nodded back.

It was a bit of a walk to the palace, but Loki barely noticed, trying to soak in as much of the familiar sights as he could. He was a little unnerved to realize that Asgard did not feel as familiar to him as it had always. He found himself comparing the majestic sky to the New York skyline and finding it lacking. He smiled to himself then, realizing that he'd found a new home, and that he didn't need Asgard anymore. It made him a little bit sad, but life was change, wasn't it?

They were in the palace far sooner than Loki liked and he found himself subjected to the stares and whispers of those who held court in the Great Hall. Mikey pressed closer to him, uneasy in the presence of so many. The rest of the Avengers closed in around the two of them, creating a loose ring of guards. Of course to the Aesir it wasn't all that impressive, as most of them were mortal, but they'd get a surprise if they did try to attack.

They halted in front of the AllFather. Thor bowed to his father, but Loki stayed upright, staring defiantly at the old man. Odin merely stared back at him. "Loki Laufeyson, step forward." He commanded. Loki briefly kissed Mikey's hand and then let her go, stepping towards Odin. Bruce and Natasha moved to flank Mikey, supporting her.

Loki stepped up to Odin, watching him warily. Odin waved his hand and the stitches in Loki's lips dissolved. Her sucked in a shocked breath, feeling like he could finally breathe for the first time in months. He resisted the urge to touch his lips and merely raised an eyebrow at Odin.

"Loki Laufeyson, your actions of this past day have been brave, selfless and noble. After some debate, it was decided that you should be rewarded for your actions. What is it you wish?" Odin asked.

Loki's mind churned quickly. He could easily have his powers back, along with his power of speech, but that left Mikey… even with his power he had not enough to repair the damage done to Mikey's voice. But if he was clever… maybe he could have everything he wanted.

"There is nothing I wish for myself." Loki began hoarsely. He cleared his throat and continued, keeping his voice low. "There is nothing I wish, but for you to give my… Mikey, her voice back."

Odin's eyebrows lifted up in surprise. "This is all that you wish?"

"If you will not do that, then make me mute once more." Loki added quickly. "Preferably without the stitches, though I've gotten used to them."

Odin eyed him and then smiled slightly. "You understand now, why Thor cares so much about these mortals?" Loki glared at him, but nodded his head reluctantly. "Very well. Mikey, come forward." He ordered. Mikey blinked, looked around, then stared.

"Mikey, it's alright?" Loki assured her, holding out his hand. She moved forward slowly, unsure, but took Loki's hand and allowed him to bring her closer to Odin. She gazed back at Loki uneasily. "You're going to be fine." He gently pushed her forward, so that she was standing in front of Odin. Loki held her hand still, reassuring her.

Odin lifted a hand, touching her throat gently. Mikey went rigid as Odin's magic poured into her, her hand clenching tight on Loki's hand. Odin's hand fell away after a moment and Mikey turned, shaking from head to toe to stare at Loki. Her mouth opened and a tiny squeak escaped her. She clapped her hands over her mouth, green-hazel eyes huge.

"Come on Mikey, let's hear that beautiful voice." Loki urged, pulling her hands away from her mouth.

"Lo-Loki?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but it was beautiful all the same. She had a soft soprano voice, which was already melodious as it was, making him certain that her singing was akin to those creatures mortals referred to as angels.

"Hello, my love." He said gently.

"This is what you asked for? Out of all the things you could have gotten?" She asked him.

"What else could I want?" Loki asked in reply. She stared at him for a long moment more and then dragged his face down to kiss him almost desperately on the lips. Loki responded eagerly, hearing Tony and Clint wolf-whistle at the two of them. He lifted one hand to make a rude gesture at them both when he and Mikey parted, panting for breath.

"For further selflessness, I decree that your powers be returned to you." Odin interrupted and Loki felt his magic flow through him once more. He gasped and flexed his hands, feeling his magic at his fingertips. Tony crashed into his back, babbling excitedly.

"Now there's a twist, guess you can now help around the Tower now, no more freeloading, Reindeer Games." He teased.

"Release me, Iron Butt, I can turn you into something now."

"Aw, Rock of Ages, you're so cute when you're trying to be threatening." Odin and Frigga stared at the Avengers, who'd come forward to surround Loki and Mikey.

"Loki, who are these people?" Frigga asked, her voice gentle.

"This is my family, I found it all on my own. They're little, and broken, but they're all so very good still." Loki answered. Tony choked on a laugh and he glared at him. "Now, if you do not mind, we would like to go home. Our celebrations were cut short."

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Star: Review plz!


	23. Chapter 23

Star: I own nothing!

As soon as they'd been beamed back to New York, Tony started howling with laughter. "You actually went for the Lilo and Stitch quote, really?" He sat down, still laughing hysterically.

"May I remind you that I now have my powers and can choose to turn you into something?" Loki replied smoothly. "I felt the quote was appropriate."

"It was, but it was a shameless ploy for sympathy." Natasha said. "How much of what you said was just a part of your plan to get your powers back?"

"Truth? All of it." Loki replied, then kissed Mikey's temple. "But I would have been satisfied just to have Mikey speak again. I just thought, why go for only one thing I wanted, if I could have them all?"

"You're a tricky bastard." Clint said with a smirk. "Hey, can I use you for target practice now?"

"Only if you don't mind your arrows coming back to bite you in the ass." Loki fired back.

"Loki, does this mean you are immortal again?" Mikey asked. Loki didn't think he'd ever tire of her voice.

"It does." Loki had some idea where this was going.

"Then, what about us? I mean, you're a god, I'm a mortal, how is-" Loki pressed a finger to her lips to silence her.

"I am a very clever god, and am already thinking of ways to keep you forever." He informed her. "There are ways to grant immortality to mortals, after all."

"Oh," She blinked and adjusted her glasses. "You've put a lot of thought into this, haven't you?"

"Unlike my brother, who just goes charging into danger, I plan, and I plan for everything." Loki silenced any more questions by kissing her deeply.

"Aw, nothing for me?" Tony pouted.

"How about I turn you into a frog?" Loki teased. "I did it to Thor, once."

"Do it!" Clint called.

"I'll turn you into one as well, Hawkass."

"You're a dick, why are we letting you stay here again?"

"Because we're strange and have developed a family bond with a psychotic god?" Bruce suggested.

"If we're done acting like children," Steve interrupted, though he was smiling. "I think we need to celebrate, and since it's Loki we're celebrating, he gets to decide what we do."

"Well, my wish is for a pizza." Loki said calmly. Tony and Clint burst out laughing. "I've been smelling your pizza for weeks and not being able to eat it."

"I think most of your wishes are going to be food, aren't they, brother?" Thor smiled as Loki nodded his head. "I have missed your clever tricks."

"As have I." Loki admitted with a wicked grin.

"Why do I have the feeling things are going to get a whole lot more interesting in this place?" Steve sighed.

%&%&%&%&%

Loki's celebration mostly wound up being feasts of Midgardian foods and watching movies. He did not need a grand celebration, though he'd always wanted one like Thor had gotten when he was younger. He was content with their family being together and enjoying their time with each other.

He knew that his relationship with Odin would never be mended. There was too much anger on both sides for that. He hoped that his mother, Frigga, would be more forgiving and understand why he could not stay in Asgard. On Midgard he had people who cared about him, who would support him. Staying on Asgard would mean being subjected every day to the whispers and the stares. He did not want that, knowing full well it could make him vengeful once more.

"What are you brooding about out here?" Thor asked, stepping out onto the balcony with Loki.

"Just thinking about how things have changed." Loki answered honestly. "I was thinking about family, and what it truly means. I still can't quite believe how quickly you've forgiven me for everything I've done to you."

"You are my brother, and I love you." Thor said simply, shrugging his shoulders.

"You have such a simple mind." Loki said fondly. "I envy you for that."

"Oh?"

"You do not overthink things and you do not allow old hurts to fester within you, unlike me." Loki sighed. "Being clever does have its downsides." Thor hugged him, trying to make him feel better.

"Come brother, we are going to watch Inception. Tony says that it will… break our brains."

"Hah, he should know better than to underestimate my mind." Loki turned with Thor and headed inside, taking his place wedged with Mikey on their armchair together. Though they no longer had need of sign language, but they still used it, especially when movies were on.

He stroked Mikey's short hair absently, paying close attention to the movie. It was very intelligent, and would be very confusing if one didn't know all that was going on. It wasn't difficult for his brilliant mind to keep up with the twisting plotlines. He smiled happily, feeling peace wash over him. This right here, was just perfect.

%&%&%&%

"Are you sure this is the path you want to pursue?" Loki asked his lover, looking down into her anxious eyes.

"Yes." Mikey replied quietly.

"Are you certain you can do this?"

"No, but I want to find out." She replied, smiling at him. "Tasha believes I have what it takes to be a spy, I want to see if that's right." She licked her lips. "What about you? Are you sure you want to become a full time member of the Avengers?"

"I am certain, though I worry what the public will say about it."

"Can't be any worse than when we came out." Tony drawled lazily, sprawled half on top of Steve on the couch.

"They'll calm down once they see all the good you do." Bruce added. "A lot of people weren't happy about the Hulk being around, if I recall."

"Can't believe he's joining the team." Clint muttered, walking in and shaking his head at Loki. "If you'd have told me all this was going to be happening when we first got together as a team I would have laughed in your face, but, here we are. Weird as hell."

"Agreed." Loki replied.

"I think the oddest part is Loki and Clint's ongoing prank war." Steve added. "Now if you could quit pranking us…"

"There will always be other casualties in war." Loki said with a straight face, making Clint cackle with laughter.

"At least stop crawling around in the ventilation system and popping out at people." Steve pleaded.

"Oh no, I'm not doing that again, Tasha almost shot me."

"I missed purposely." Tasha said smoothly, sneaking into the room. "Fury's still having a bit of a conniption fit over Loki joining the Avengers, but he seems to have accepted the idea." She reported. "Your stocks are going to take a huge dive after this, Tony."

"Stocks, who cares about stocks?" Tony grinned. "Now we got our own magic user on our team so none of those stupid sorcerers will ever make us look like fools again with their magical mumbo-jumbo."

"You're all certain about this?" Loki asked.

"Fuck, can't think of anything better than having the whole family fighting crime." Tony answered. "Now all we need is to get Bean some powers of her own."

Mikey laughed and shook her head. Loki kissed her softly and smiled at the other Avengers. What a strange little ohana he had found for himself in the end.

**THE END**

Star: So that's it folks, I hope you've enjoyed the ride and I'll be back with New Beginnings (I think that's what I called it) soon as I can get it typed up! Thank you all for your reviews and support!


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